Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to his counterpart in Russia on recent reports of torture and murder of gay people in Chechnya.

The UK remains deeply concerned by the continued persecution of members of the LGBT community in Chechnya. Through a statement issued on 7 April by the former Foreign and Commonwealth Office Minister of State, Baroness Anelay of St Johns, the UK was one of the first countries to express concern and call for a full and thorough investigation to be undertaken by the Russian authorities, to ensure that perpetrators of human rights abuses are brought to justice. I delivered a statement condemning the reports in the House of Commons following the tabling of an Urgent Question on 20 April. On 28 April, The Foreign Secretary co-signed a letter to Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov urging his government to investigate the reports and ensure the safety of activists and journalists investigating these abuses. UK officials in Russia continue to raise our concerns directly with the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and are working closely with the relevant NGOs who are supporting victims fleeing the persecution in Chechnya.