The Chechen leader, with strong ties to mixed martial artists in the United States and in his home region, told HBO’s Real Sports in an interview that aired Tuesday night that his government would “condone” violence against homosexuals by their relatives.
Ramzan Kadyrov, the leader of the Russian republic of Chechnya, and his administration have been condemned by the United Nations, among other bodies, for the reported kidnapping, torturing and murder of gay men in the region. Real Sports interviewed two anonymous gay Chechen men and they detailed atrocities performed against them by government leaders, including the electrocution of their genitals.