NEW YORK, July 19. /TASS/. Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov told US TV network HBO in an interview on Tuesday that human rights organizations spread false information about persecution of gays in the North Caucasus republic hoping to earn money on that.
"These are mean human rights activists, who are corrupt and who always deceive US authorities and get kopecks," Kadyrov said. "A lot of people will go from Moscow pretending that Kadyrov persecutes them and they are forced to go to Europe, and they will earn money there."
Kadyrov expressed resentment over media reports that gays are persecuted in Chechnya. "It’s they, shaitans (devils), corrupt and subhuman who invented this. God damn you for telling stories about us," he said.
Mass media reports earlier said that representatives of the LGBT community in Chechnya were allegedly persecuted. Russian’s human rights commissioner Tatyana Moskalkova asked law enforcement agencies to double check the reports.