function onPlayerReadyVidible(e){'undefined'!=typeof HPTrack&&HPTrack.Vid.Vidible_track(e)}!function(e,i){if(e.vdb_Player){if('object'==typeof commercial_video){var a='',o='m.fwsitesection='+commercial_video.site_and_category;if(a+=o,commercial_video['package']){var c='&m.fwkeyvalues=sponsorship%3D'+commercial_video['package'];a+=c}e.setAttribute('vdb_params',a)}i(e.vdb_Player)}else{var t=arguments.callee;setTimeout(function(){t(e,i)},0)}}(document.getElementById('vidible_1'),onPlayerReadyVidible); Ellen DeGeneres, Matt Bomer and Billy Eichner are just three of the LGBTQ celebrities who are speaking out against reports that gay men are being detained, attacked and even killed in the Russian region of Chechnya.On April 1, a Moscow-owned Russian opposition newspaper, Novaya Gazeta, cited federal law enforcement officials who said more than 100 gay men, ranging in ages from 16 to 50, had been detainedin connection with their nontraditional sexual orientation, or suspicion of such.The initial reports were deemedabsolute lies and disinformation by a spokesman for Chechnyas leader, Ramzan Kadyrov,according to The New York Times. But on April 4, a secondNovaya Gazeta reportcited a source who told the newspaper that the Muslim-majority regions anti-LGBTQ efforts include Nazi-likeconcentration camps.The Human Rights Campaign, GLAAD and Human Rights First were among the many advocacy organizations to call for U.S. officials to condemn the reports. Celebrities, too, were quick to react to the news, which began picking up steam stateside on Tuesday.Eichner, who has never shied away from getting political on social media, tweeted:THIS IS NOT A JOKE, PEOPLE. THIS IS HAPPENING UNDER PUTIN'S WATCH IN 2017. https://t.co/ok6Z78JS31 via @IBTimesUK billy eichner (@billyeichner) April 12, 2017 DeGeneres, Bomer and pop star Troye Sivan also chimed in, sharing links to the news with their own thoughts on Twitter.Things happen these days & it's hard to believe they're real. And yet they are. If this is happening in Chechnya, the world needs to rise up https://t.co/dPnmWEvvuM Ellen DeGeneres (@TheEllenShow) April 12, 2017 Please sign share and help! https://t.co/QH7GE90WPh Matt Bomer (@MattBomer) April 13, 2017 SILENCE = DEATH https://t.co/FPYItqE6G5 troye sivan (@troyesivan) April 11, 2017 Other notables offered similar takes.More than 100 gay men 'sent to prison camps' in Chechnya https://t.co/XTJEJlZkri Mark Ruffalo (@MarkRuffalo) April 11, 2017 The @UN must probe LGBTQ attacks in Chechnya. Appalling! https://t.co/2Dhc4iQZAN Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) April 11, 2017 Unfortunately, details of the alleged detainments are sketchy at best. Among those to downplay the controversy was Chechen activist Kheda Saratova, who is on Kadyrovs human rights council. In a Russian radio interview cited by The Guardian,Saratova said she hadnt had a single request on the issue, but also also implied that there werent any gay people in the region at all.In our Chechen society, any person who respects our traditions and culture will hunt down this kind of person without any help from authorities, Saratova said, and do everything to make sure that this kind of person does not exist in our society.For the latest in LGBTQ news, check out the Queer Voices newsletter. -- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
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