Editors of "Novaya Gazeta" report receiving threats for publications about persecution of Chechen gays

In Chechnya, the adviser to the leader of the republic and theologians in the republic openly call for violence against journalists of the newspaper "Novaya Gazeta" for publishing materials about the persecution of gays in Chechnya. This was reported by the editorial office of the newspaper. After the publication of the statement, the website of the "Novaya Gazeta" was subjected to a DDOS-attack.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on April 1, the newspaper "Novaya Gazeta" reported about mass detentions in Chechnya of men suspected of unconventional sexual orientation. Later, the newspaper "Novaya Gazeta" reported with reference to gays persecuted in Chechnya that in Argun, a "secret prison" had been arranged for people with unconventional sexual orientation.

"Following the reaction on the publication about the persecution of Chechen homosexuals, the editors feel serious fears for security of not only some journalists, but also of all the staff members of the 'Novaya Gazeta', without exception," the newspaper claims in its statement.

Let us remind you that on April 3, when Chechen theologians delivered their speeches at the central mosque of Grozny, Adam Shakhidov, the adviser to Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, publicly accused the staff members of the "Novaya Gazeta" of slander and clearly identified journalists as "enemies of our faith and our homeland."

The editors of the "Novaya Gazeta" believe that it was the meeting held on April 3, which launched the spread of direct threats against the newspaper's staff members.

"The resolution adopted following the results of the meeting is pushing religious fanatics to violence against the journalists," the newspaper's statement reports.

In its postscript, the statement released by the "Novaya Gazeta" reports that investigators had a ten-day period for reaction to the first publication on the mass persecution of Chechen residents because of their homosexual orientation and that period had already expired. In that regard, Andrei Sabinin, an advocate of the international human rights organization "Agora", has filed a complaint to the Basmanny Court of Moscow with the demand to recognize inaction of Alexander Bastrykin, the chair of the Investigating Committee of the Russian Federation (ICRF).

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.