Hillary Clinton has called on the Trump
administration to demand an end to the persecution of gay men in
Chechnya.
Reports of police in Chechnya, a
Muslim-majority republic of Russia, torturing and killing men
suspected of being gay or bisexual started appearing earlier this
month.
Russian newspaper Novaya Gaceta
broke the story, reporting that more than 100 men have been detained
and three killed in the anti-gay campaign, including several
well-known local television personalities and religious figures.
According to NBC
News, Clinton made her remarks at a fundraiser for an LGBT
community center in New York City on Thursday.
“Each time this administration
elevates an outspoken opponent of LGBT equality – sometimes in
particularly cruel ways like replacing the first openly gay Secretary
of the Army with someone who called being transgender a ‘disease' –
I picture all of the joyful, beaming couples that I’ve met across
our country … who are so excited to get married, start a family,
and begin their lives together,” Clinton said, referring to Mark
Green, Trump's nominee for the post.
(Related: Mark
Green, Trump's pick for Army secretary, says transgender people are
“evil.”)
“It’s not just here in our country
that we’re seeing clouds gathering on the horizon. The US
government – yes, this government – must demand an end to the
persecution of gay men in Russia,” she added.
(Related: Nikki
Haley condemns persecution of gay men in Chechnya.)