Over the weekend, one of the world’s best footballers, Mohamed Salah, met Chechnya’s leader, Ramzan Kadyrov.
On the surface, it made sense for Egypt’s star striker to agree to accompany Kadyrov to his team’s training ground in Grozny, the capital city of Chechnya, before the World Cup starts on June 14.
After all, the leader’s region is hosting the Liverpool forward and his teammates for the next couple of weeks, so why not chat and pose with him for a few photos?
Salah and Kadyrov (KARIM JAAFAR/AFP/Getty)
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Because he’s accused of ordering a crackdown which has reportedly led to the deaths of more than 100 gay and bisexual men – that’s why.
According to human rights groups and newspaper Novaya Gazeta, the ‘gay purge’ started in April last year, with queer men rounded up and detained in concentration camp-style prisons where they were tortured and murdered.
Kadyrov and his administration have denied this, repeatedly insisting that there are no gay people in the region, and threatening death if there were.
Chechen head Ramzan Kadyrov (MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP/Getty)
Over the course of one horrific interview with HBO last July, Kadyrov seemed to repeatedly support violent anti-gay actions, saying that people who kill their gay relatives would have his administration’s backing.
Chechnya’s ruler since 2007 said: “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.”
Ramzan Kadyrov (Kadyrov Press Office/Getty)
The leader also said – as he and his regime have done repeatedly – that Chechnya “don’t have any gays,” adding that “if there are any, take them to Canada.”
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