On April 1, 2017, Novaya Gazeta published the first material about the abduction, torture and murder of LGBT people in Chechnya. Thanks to the work of the Russian LGBT Network, the international community has recognized the mass persecution of LGBT people organized by the Chechen authorities. Russia continues to deny both the existence and mass persecution of homosexual, bisexual and transgender people in the Chechen Republic. The most significant dates concerning the persecution of LGBT people in Chechnya are listed below.
Two years ago, in April 2017, information about mass kidnappings, tortures and killings of LGBT people in Chechnya appeared in the mass media for the first time. Since that time, the Russian LGBT Network and its partners made every effort to attract public attention to this problem and to stop violence. However, despite all the efforts, persecution of LGBT in Chechnya continues. The Russian Federation keeps denying both the fact of persecution and mere existence of LGBT in Chechnya. 
On March 28, the law enforcement officers broke into LGBT organization “Rakurs” community center in Archangelsk. It turned out that it was a “verification” of the complaint submitted by unknown person. The law enforcement officers were checking community center guests’ documents and were withdrawing brochures and other materials. The lawyer Alexey Kuroptev prepares the complaint to the court. 
52 Russian and International human rights organizations (including the Russian LGBT Network) signed the statement about the fact that Russia jeopardize online freedoms all over the world. The representative of Article 19 delivered the Statement at the session of the UN Human Rights Council in Genève. 
On May 19th, GENDERDOC-M organized the annual march of equality in Chișinău, under the campaign Fără Frică de Iubire(Without the fear to love). However, unlike the last years’ experience, the march that included approximately 350 participants was able to reach its destination without being attacked and evacuated halfway through the route. The Ministry of Interior provided all necessary protections for the participants and despite the aggressive outbursts of the counter-protestors, the Pride march was not exposed to any violence.
A year has passed since the publication of first testimonies of LGBT people that faced persecution in Chechnya based on their sexual orientation and gender identity. However the unlawful detentions, humiliation and torture of LGBT people in Northern Caucasus persist. There are some things one can do to support the victims of the state-organized persecutions of LGBT in Chechnya.
