[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 69 (Monday, April 24, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Page S2483]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                                Chechnya

  Mr. President, I would like to highlight the horrific reports on the 
pro-Russian Chechen Government's brutal campaign against LGBT people 
and others over the last several weeks.
  Human Rights Watch recently reported that ``law enforcement and 
security agency officials under control of the ruthless head of the 
Chechen Republic, Ramzan Kadyrov, have rounded up dozens of men on 
suspicion of being gay, torturing and humiliating the victims.''
  There are reports that at least 100 men have been arrested. At least 
three men have reportedly been killed since the campaign began. Chechen 
LGBT individuals, as well as those suspected of being gay, have been 
taken to unofficial secret detention facilities where they have endured 
heinous abuses.
  They also face the danger of so-called honor killings committed by 
their own relatives.
  Instructive in that vein is a statement from a spokesman for the 
Chechen leader. Here is what he told the Russian news agency, talking 
about gay men, in particular, in the LGBT community: ``If such people 
existed in Chechnya, law enforcement would not have to worry about 
them, as their own relatives would have sent them to where they could 
never return.''
  Unfortunately, this is not a new reality for those living under the 
brutal tyranny of the Chechen leader who, by the way, happens to be a 
loyal ally of Vladimir Putin. There have been reports in the past of 
similar abuses, although these reports seem to be the most brutal and 
should provoke anger in all of us.
  We should never, ever tolerate human rights violations against any 
person for their political views, their religious beliefs, or their 
sexual orientation.
  According to reports today, Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov said that 
Russian officials had not seen information to confirm the reports. 
Additionally, Putin's spokesman said: ``We have no reason not to trust 
the head of the republic''--talking about the Chechen Republic--``until 
there are actual complaints in this regard, not abstract, anonymous but 
actual complaints.''
  Well, the actual complaints are all around us. They have been well 
documented in publications throughout the world, but instead, Vladimir 
Putin is choosing to prop up Kadyrov, the Chechen brutal dictator, and 
prop up his brutal regime instead of holding them accountable.
  The United States and other responsible nations should do more to 
ensure that all people are protected and those who harm them are held 
responsible. We should use our voice on the global stage to call 
attention to these horrifying acts and to ensure that they are 
condemned in an appropriate way, ultimately in the hopes that they will 
be stopped.