Kremlin Spox Denies Chechen Murders Of Gay Men: We Have No Reliable Reports Of Any Problems

PAGING NIKKI HALEY. PAGING REX TILLERSON.

The Associated Press reports:

In the face of growing international concern about reported detentions and killings of homosexuals in Chechnya, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman says the Kremlin does not have confirmed information about the matter.

The respected Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta reported this month that police in the predominantly Muslim republic rounded up more than 100 men suspected of homosexuality and that at least three of them have been killed.

Chechen authorities have denied the reports. But the United Nations’ High Commissioner for Human Rights and prominent international organizations have urged the Russian government to investigate the reported abuse.

“We do not have any reliable information about any problems in this area” in the Chechen Republic, Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists on Friday.