(Above photo by OFFICIAL LEWEB PHOTOS; courtesy Wikimedia Commons)
French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday said he discussed the crackdown against gay Chechens with his Russian counterpart.
“We discussed the situation of LGBT people in Chechnya,” wrote Macron on his Twitter page after he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Palace of Versailles outside Paris. “I very specifically told President Putin what France’s expectations are.”
Macron also noted the crackdown against gay Chechens as he spoke at a press conference with Putin.
Nous avons évoqué le cas des personnes LGBT en Tchétchénie. J’ai très précisément indiqué au président Poutine les attentes de la France. pic.twitter.com/aWosf3Nw4t
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) May 29, 2017
Chechnya is a predominantly Muslim semi-autonomous Russian republic in the North Caucuses.
Novaya Gazeta, an independent Russian newspaper, reported last month that Chechen authorities have arrested more than 100 gay men since February.
Novaya Gazeta has said some of the men who have been arrested have been beaten, tortured or even killed. Reports also indicate Chechen authorities have sent them to secret prisons that have been described as “concentration camps.”
Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov, who is a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, and the Kremlin have downplayed or even dismissed the reports that gay men have been arrested. Novaya Gazeta reported last week that the Russian government has launched an investigation into the crackdown.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel earlier this month raised Chechnya with Putin during their meeting that took place in Russia. British Prime Minister Theresa May and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau are among the other world leaders who have condemned the crackdown.
U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley in an April 17 statement said the U.S. remains “disturbed” by the arrests of the gay Chechen men.
The State Department last month urged the Russian government to investigate them. President Trump and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson have neither publicly commented on the arrests nor urged the Russian government to pressure Chechen authorities to stop their crackdown.
Macron on May 7 defeated Marine Le Pen of the far-right National Front in the second round of France’s presidential election.
Macron accused Russian hackers of targeting his campaign in the days leading up to the election. The Russian government has repeatedly denied it sought to influence the outcome of the French election, even though Putin met with Le Pen at the Kremlin on March 24.
The first round of the French presidential election took place on April 23.
