Russian police have detained activists trying to raise awareness about the treatment of gay men in Chechnya.
A protest took place during a May Day parade in St Petersburg, Russia’s second largest city.
Photos shared on Twitter by freelance photographer Dave Frenkel show demonstrators lying across the road with blood smeared on their faces, symbolising the reality for gay men in the Chechen region.
Задержанные участники первомая просто за радужные флаги pic.twitter.com/khNaKjpbsH
— Dave Frenkel (@merr1k) May 1, 2017
На первомае в Петербурге задержали акцию в против убийства геев в Чечне pic.twitter.com/uV202NGD4b
— Dave Frenkel (@merr1k) May 1, 2017
The images also show police dressed in riot gear loading the protesters into vans.
Concern has been raised by human rights groups and several countries, after reports emerged at the beginning of April claiming over a hundred men had been detained and tortured in The Chechen Republic. The initial reports also claimed that at least three men had been murmured by authorities.
The region is part of Russia but has its own autonomous government. They have denied any such action is taking place, with one government official claiming that there were no gay people living in the region.
The British government has claimed to have intercepted a local radio broadcast where President Ramzan Kadyrov publicly declares that he aims to get rid of all gay people in the region by the start of Ramadan.
The Russian government has acknowledged the international concern but simultaneously stated that no official complaints have been made from Chechen residents.
