MOSCOW, July 6. /TASS/. Russia’s human rights commissioner Tatyana Moskalkova plans to ask the Investigative Committee to double check data on the alleged persecution against LGBT community’s representatives in the North Caucasus republic of Chechnya.
Moskalkova told reporters on Thursday she has already received a response from the investigators that they have not established any facts confirming the alleged violence and that they lack particular data on these persons.
"As my request and the letter that I forwarded from Novaya Gazeta (newspaper) contains the surnames of people (homosexuals) who allegedly died, the checks cannot be considered as completed and I will ask to write a response with clarification on those surnames mentioned in the letter," Moskalkova said.
The list contains 24 surnames but it is difficult to find out about these persons’ fate, Moskalkova said. "Only their last names and first names are given, and no more other data," she said, voicing hope that the investigators can talk to the article’s author and get additional information about the date of birth, the place of burial, their relatives and the former place of residence.
Media reports earlier claimed that gay men have been subjected to persecution in Chechnya. Moskalkova asked law enforcement agencies to check these reports.