French President Macron To Putin: We Need "Complete Truth" Regarding Torture Of Gay Men In Chechnya

President Putin of Russia (L), President Macron of France (R)

While President Trump has yet to address the horrific torture of gay men in Chechnya, newly-elected French President Macron brought up the subject immédiatement in his first face to face meeting with Russian President Putin.

From the New York Times:

On human rights, Mr. Macron said he had raised the troubles facing gay and transgender people in Chechnya as well as those of nongovernmental organizations.

Mr. Macron said that he had discussed the reports of collective punishment of gay men in Chechnya with Mr. Putin and that they had agreed on a “very regular monitoring” of the situation.

Mr. Macron said Mr. Putin had told him he had taken measures to “establish the complete truth on the activities of local authorities” in Chechnya, but he did not specify what those measures were. Chechnya is under the control of a pro-Kremlin leader, Ramzan A. Kadyrov.

“As for me, I will be constantly vigilant on these issues, which are in keeping with our values,” Mr. Macron said.

Although he did not dispute Mr. Macron’s characterization, Mr. Putin did not mention gay people during the news conference.

In related news, Joël Deumier, president of French LGBT rights organization SOS Homophobie, told FranceInfo that France has started taking in gay refugees from Chechnya.

Earlier this month, Buzzfeed reported that the U.S. State Department has denied visas to gay Chechens fleeing persecution.