Chechnya’s leader Ramzan Kadyrov: Families should kill their gay relatives

Chechnya’s leader President Ramzan Kadyrov has defended honour killings of gay men.

Speaking to HBO, the Chechen president said that he would defend the rights of families to murder their gay relatives.

‘Honour killings’, or the murder of relatives due to the belief that the victim has brought shame to the family, are illegal in Russia and Chechnya.

Kadyrov has ruled the Muslim republic since 2007 after the assassination of his father.

In the TV interview, he declared: “If we have such people here, then I’m telling you officially, their relatives won’t let them be, because of our faith, our mentality, customs and traditions.

“Even if it’s punishable under the law, we would still condone it.”

Kadyrov not only rules over Chechnya, but also runs the Akhmat Fight Club gym and the Akhmat MMA promotion in the Chechen capital of Grozny.

The interview with HBO was to promote the country’s sports industry – with numerous sports stars agreeing to appear with the warlord, it’s presumed for large fees.

Legendary footballer Ronaldinho recently posed grinning from ear-to-ear with Kadyrov.

Petition: Stop the persecution of gay men in Chechnya

President Kadyrov once again denied reports of the gay purge in the region, however.

“If there were any gay people living in the region, then they should move to Canada.

He also said that “they are not people”.

The comments came after David Scott of HBO asked Kadyrov about “the alleged roundup, abduction and torture of gay men in the Republic”.

Kadyrov retorted: “Why did he come here? What’s the point of these questions?

“This is nonsense. We don’t have those kinds of people here.