Journalist Renat Davletgildeev publicly called on the Russian delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) to comment on the remarks made by its member, Ruslan Kutaev. The incident was triggered by Kutaev's harsh remarks directed at the LGBTQ community and women in the Caucasus.
Davletgildeev drew attention to Kutaev’s recent interviews. Ruslan Kutaev, who represents Russia’s indigenous peoples in PACE, was previously an ally of Aslan Maskhadov and now heads the “Assembly of the Peoples of the Caucasus.”
In his speeches, Kutaev made a number of controversial statements: He referred to LGBT people as "outcasts and perverts". He stated that the fate of women fleeing domestic violence is the personal affairs of their families and male relatives. He spoke about the “global Jewish conspiracy” and the possibility of organizing a migrant uprising to seize Moscow.
Since the PACE delegation does not have an address for private correspondence, Davletgildeev published his questions publicly. He is asking for clarification on:
- Does the Russian delegation support Kutaev's position, and does it plan to issue an official statement?
- What is the delegation’s position on the persecution of LGBTQ individuals and women in the Caucasus and in Russia as a whole?
- Can someone who calls LGBTQ people “perverts” represent a human rights and democratic agenda on behalf of the Russian opposition?
Anastasia Shevchenko, Deputy Secretary of the PACE delegation, stated that the topic of the “Jewish conspiracy” and other controversial statements by Kutaev had not yet been discussed, as the delegates in Strasbourg were focusing “exclusively on working issues.” She added that she did not know whether an official statement would be issued on this matter. Davletgildeev, for his part, intends to address the PACE leadership directly.
He also commented on the situation Mikhail Khodorkovsky. He noted that the opposition platform was created to ensure “diversity among participants and opinions.” According to him, the participants’ goal is to learn to coexist and tackle common challenges even in the face of “categorical disagreement” on a number of issues.
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