Watch: Head of Chechnya Tells HBO Gays ‘Are Devils’ and Should Be Sent to Canada ‘To Purify Our Blood’

‘We Will Put the Whole World on Its Knees and Screw It From Behind’ Says Chechen Strongman Kadyrov

Dozens of gay men are being kidnapped, held prisoner, tortured, and even murdered in concentration camps in the Russian Republic of Chechnya, according to several media reports and confirmed by at least one international human rights organization. The head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, is a strong and close ally of President Vladimir Putin. Both have denied or ignored the accusations, further enabling the anti-gay violence.

In an exclusive interview with HBO’s “Real Sports” producer David Scott, Kadyrov delivered a stunning attack on gay people and the United States of America. Outsports’ Cyd Zeigler broke the story Friday afternoon.

In a promotional video, Kadyrov is asked about the extrajudicial torture and killings. 
“This is nonsense,” he tells HBO.

Outsports published an excerpt of the transcript. In it, Kadyrov, a military dictator and strongman, says gays “are not people” and “are devils” who “are for sale.” 

He also says there are no gays in Chechnya. But if there are, “take them to Canada,” he says. “Praise be to God. Take them far from us so we don’t have them at home. To purify our blood, if there are any here, take them.”

Asked if the U.S. is Russia’s enemy, Kadyrov said America is not strong enough to be regarded as an enemy of Russia.

“We have a strong government and are a nuclear state. Even if our government was completely destroyed, our nuclear missiles would be automatically deployed. We will put the whole world on its knees and screw it from behind.”

Outsports notes Kadyrov runs a mixed martial arts program and has begun to promote it outside of Chechnya.

But what’s not in the story is that Kadyrov supports mixed martial arts programs for children – even his own young sons.

“The sons — Akhmad, 10, Eli, 9, and Adam, 8 — were among the fighters in a mixed martial arts tournament broadcast Tuesday on Russian television from Grozny, the Chechen capital,” The New York Times reported in early October of last year. “The child fighters, shirtless and wearing no protection, punched and kicked their young opponents in the head during the spectacle. All three Kadyrov sons won their bouts and received gold belts at the end of the tournament.”

HBO’s interview with Kadyrov airs July 18. 

RELATED STORIES:

‘No Surnames’: Top Russian Diplomat Sergei Lavrov Denies Verified Report of Torture of Gay Men in Chechnya

Trump State Department Denying Visas for Gay Men Fleeing Chechnya’s Kidnappings, Torture and Murders

Gay Man From Chechnya: ‘If I Go Home, They Will Kill Me’

 

To comment on this article and other NCRM content, visit our Facebook page.

Image via The Kremlin