Sunday, May 12, 2013

Man Tortured, Murdered In Russia After Coming Out Gay


A gay man was tortured and murdered in the southern city of Volgograd, Russia.
According to Radio Free Europe, officials have confirmed that the battered remains of the man were found on May 10.
Two men have been arrested in connection with the crime.
Investigators said that the three men were drinking on May 9 to celebrate Victory Day, a day set aside to remember the 1945 surrender of Nazi Germany, when the unidentified victim, 23, told his friends, aged 22 and 27, that he was gay.
The victim allegedly was beaten and sodomized with a beer bottle, and his skull was smashed with a stone.
Reuters reported that the man's body was found in the courtyard of an apartment building and that he had also suffered blows to the genital area.
Nikolai Alexeyev, a gay rights activist, told the Interfax news agency that a proposed bill which seeks to outlaw “homosexual propaganda” to minors would increase such attacks.
“This monstrous incident in Volgograd demonstrates the fruits of the homophobic policy that is being conducted in this country, including the initiative to ban homosexual propaganda,” Alexeyev said.
Such laws are already in place in several Russian cities and parliament could approve a nationwide ban within weeks. The policy effectively prohibits activists from demonstrating in public.

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