Just when you thought things couldn't get worse for gay Russians, news has surfaced that one of its territories, Chechnya, has launched a large scale assault on its LGBT community.

 

In fact, Chechnya's President Razman Kadyrov (pictured) has been accused of starting the world's first concentration camp for homosexuals since Hitler's in the 1930s. Activists in Russia say gay men are the primary target, and are being tortured with electric shocks and, in some cases, beaten to death.

 

The news follows last week's reports that 100 gay men were arrested in the area, and three were killed. Authorities argued that such claims were false because homosexuals do not exist in the Muslim state (adding that if they did, they would be "taken care of" by their families).

 

"Gay people have been detained and rounded up and we are working to evacuate people from the camps and some have now left the region," explained Svetlana Zakharova, of the Russian LGBT Network. "Those who have escaped said they are detained in the same room and people are kept all together, around 30 or 40. They are tortured with electric currents and heavily beaten, sometimes to death."

 

While being tortured, victims are forced to reveal the names and locations of other gay men in the area.

 

"We can only call on the Russian authorities to investigate the allegations," Alexander Artemyev, from Amnesty International in Russia, added. "Homosexuals in Chechnya are treated very harshly and prosecuted daily and they are afraid to talk about it. 

 

"They either have to hide or leave the republic. We are keeping in touch with the LGBT network that helps people in Russia to find shelter. The problem is people there cannot talk about it as it puts their lives and those they speak to, in danger. This is the main issue we are facing in Russia and the main challenge."

 

Wow, who knew there could be someone in Russia worse than Putin?

 

Reports of ‘concentration camps’ and torture for gay men in Russia [Metro]

 

Russia "has secretly opened Nazi-style prisons ..." [The Sun]

 

Report: Chechyna Is Torturing Gay Men in Concentration Camps [The Advocate]