Four more prisons for gay men have been found in Chechnya

[Meatpie]

[SUB]People hold a protest outside the Russian Embassy in London, following reports of the torture and murder of gay men in Chechnya.[/SUB]

One of the Russian reporters who exposed the detention and torture of gay men in Chechnya has gone into hiding amid fears of retribution as the scope of alleged abuse widens.

Both the Kremlin and Chechen government have dismissed “provocative” reports by Novaya Gazeta, which said at least 100 men had been rounded up and jailed at secret prisons on suspicion of being gay.



At least three have been killed, the newspaper said, while other detailed horrific torture and beatings before being released with the threat of relatives carrying out “honour killings”.


Elena Milashina has left her apartment in Moscow and plans to flee Russia after Muslim clerics in Chechnya “announced jihad against all the staff of Novaya Gazeta” over the report, which sparked a global outcry.


She told CNN its offices had received two envelopes filled with white powder following the sermon in Grozny, which was watched by 15,000 people and broadcast on regional television.


“We still don't know what the powder is – we have asked the security forces to check it,” Ms Milashina added. “But all of us, including me, consider this situation is very serious.”