Police in Karachay-Cherkessia have detained at least 16 local residents in a criminal case on organising the activities of an extremist organisation, the human rights group Investigative Committee SOS reported on April 30, citing a source.
According to human rights activists, the detained men were members of a local group on VKontakte with queer acquaintances. It was one of the few LGBTQ+ groups in Karachay-Cherkessia that was not blocked.
The police came to one of the men, who published photos and comments in the group, as well as communicated in the chat, on April 27. He was searched, and his messages in the group were also studied. He was then taken to the Investigative Committee, where he saw about 15 more detained men.
According to the source, mainly young people were detained, two more are about 40 years old. The interlocutor of human rights activists said that at least one detainee was beaten in the Investigative Committee.
- In Russia, over the past three years, the persecution of LGBTQ+ people has become more active after the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation in November 2023 declared the "international LGBT movement" "extremist" (such a movement does not exist). After that, criminal cases were repeatedly initiated in different regions under articles on extremism.
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