Paul
Goble
Staunton, December 24 – The Kremlin
has consistently defended Chechnya’s Ramzan Kadyrov against all criticism, but
new details on the murders of gays in his secret prisons could make him too
toxic for the Russian authorities to do so. Indeed, Kadyrov’s own suggestion
that he’d like to conclude his political career may set the stage for his
departure.
In April 2017, Moscow’s Novaya gazeta broke the story about the
arrest and torture of gays in “secret prisons” in Chechnya. That attracted enormous attention but little
real action inside the Russian Federation as Moscow continued to defend its
janissary against the charges. But two developments in the last few days may
change that.
First, on December 20, the OSCE
released a report by Graz Professor Wolfgang Benedek providing what it
describes as “incontrovertible” evidence
of these crimes and calling for Kadyrov to be brought to the Hague on charges
of violating the human rights of the population under his control (lenta.ru/news/2018/12/21/gaaga/).
And today, Elena Milashina of Novaya gazeta has published a follow-on
story which documents the murder of two gays held in his jails, and refers to
the scandal as “Chechen-gate,” an indication the stakes have been raised for
Kadyrov and his patron Vladimir Putin (novayagazeta.ru/articles/2018/12/23/79043-tayna-za-zheleznoy-dveryu).
Her 2800-word article, which
includes both the testimony of others who were incarcerated with the two murder
victims and grizzly photographs of what was done to them, is certain to attract
more attention not only in Europe where concerns about Kadyrov’s homophobic
policy are already high but also in Russia itself.
And consequently, Kadyrov who has
survived despite all his other crimes may be brought down by this because if
Putin tries to defend him this time around, the Kremlin leader may find himself
even more isolated from people of good will not only in the West but in his own
country as well.
No comments:
Post a Comment