The Russian republic of Chechnya has launched a new crackdown on gays in which at least two people have died and about 40 people have been detained, LGBT activists in Russia charged Monday.

The new allegations come after reports in 2017 of more than 100 gay men arrested and subjected to torture, and some of them killed, in the predominantly Muslim region in southern Russia.

The Associated Press and other media outlets have interviewed some of the victims, who spoke about torture at the hands of Chechen law enforcement officers. Chechen authorities have denied those accusations, and federal authorities conducted a probe into the earlier reports but said they found nothing to support the charges.

Alvi Karimov, a spokesman for Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, told the Interfax news agency on Monday that the latest reports are “complete lies and don’t have an ounce of truth in them.” Karimov insisted that no one has been detained in Chechnya on suspicion of being gay.

But the Russian LGBT Network, which has been monitoring the situation in Chechnya and helping victims, said in a statement Monday that about 40 men and women have been detained on suspicion of being gay since December and that at least two of them have died of torture in detention. The detainees are believed held at the same facility that was named in the 2017 reports.

“Widespread detentions, torture and killings of gay people have resumed in Chechnya,” Igor Kochetkov, program director at the Russian LGBT Network said. “Persecution of men and women suspected of being gay never stopped. It’s only that its scale has been changing.”

Kochetkov said the new wave of anti-gay persecution started at the end of the year, when Chechen authorities detained the administrator of a social media group popular with LGBT people in the North Caucasus. Kochetkov said the mass detentions began after the authorities got hold of the contacts on his phone.

Russia denies accusations

LGBT activists in 2017 helped to evacuate around 150 gay men from Chechnya to help them restart their lives elsewhere in Russia. Many of them have sought asylum and resettled abroad.

“News that the authorities have resumed the crackdown is spine-chilling,” said Marie Struthers, director of Amnesty International’s Eastern Europe section. “With lives in jeopardy, there is an urgent need for an international response to protect gay and lesbian people in Chechnya.”

Russian authorities have strenuously denied that killings and torture took place in the predominantly Muslim region where homosexuality is taboo, even after one man came forward to talk about the time he spent in detention in Chechnya.

One man’s account

Maxim Lapunov said he was detained by unidentified people on a street in the Chechen capital, Grozny, in 2017 and kept in custody for two weeks, where he was repeatedly beaten. He was let go after he signed a statement acknowledging that he was gay and was told he would be killed if he talked about his time in detention.

Lapunov, who is from Siberia, was the first to file a complaint with Russian authorities over the wave of arrests of gay people.

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe last month called on Russia to investigate the reports and cited Lapunov’s case specifically.

Kadyrov and his government in Chechnya have been accused of widespread human rights abuses against many dissidents, not just gay men.
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Prime Minister Theresa May urged restive MPs to think again about rejecting the EU divorce deal, on the eve of a crucial parliamentary vote that could scupper the agreement.

May warned lawmakers that rejecting it risked either a chaotic no-deal scenario or subverting British democracy by blocking Brexit.

“Whatever you may have previously concluded, over these next 24 hours, give this deal a second look,” May told MPs in parliament. “No, it is not perfect. And yes, it is a compromise.”

Tuesday’s vote was meant to take place in December but was postponed, with May facing certain defeat.

She sought assurances from Brussels that would assuage MPs’ concerns over the so-called Irish backstop arrangement.

It is the most contentious element which would keep Britain tied to some EU trade rules, with even closer alignment for the province of Northern Ireland, if and until another way was found to avoid border checks with the Republic of Ireland.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and European Council President Donald Tusk repeated in a letter Monday that they would not reopen the divorce deal, but offered clarifications with “legal value” on the controversial clause.

May admitted their offer fell short of what she wanted, but said MPs now had the clearest assurances they were going to get from the EU — and should support the deal.

She warned MPs of “the consequences of voting against this deal”, saying a no-deal Brexit risked breaking up the United Kingdom, while the alternative of blocking Brexit “would be a subversion of our democracy.”

‘Detrimental’ deal

But as MPs prepare to vote on Tuesday evening, large numbers of her own Conservative MPs and her Northern Irish allies remain strongly opposed.

In a further setback, government whip Gareth Johnson — a Brexiteer and one of the officials charged with getting MPs to vote for the deal — announced his resignation.

“It is clear this deal would be detrimental to our nation’s interests,” he said.

In a speech in Stoke, a Brexit-supporting city in the English Midlands, May repeated that the only way to avoid “no deal” was to support her agreement.

“If no deal is as bad as you believe it is, it will be the height of recklessness to do anything else,” she said.

But with growing calls to delay Brexit or call a second referendum, she added: “It’s now my judgement that a more likely outcome is a paralysis in parliament that risks there being no Brexit.”

Assurances with ‘legal value’

May signed the divorce deal with other EU leaders in December after 18 months of tough negotiations, but it has faced huge opposition in parliament.

Tusk and Juncker said the EU “does not wish to see the backstop enter into force” and noted that if it was necessary, it would only be temporary.

They promised to work quickly to find alternatives to keep open the border, including using technology, a solution backed by Brexit supporters.

The pair repeated that similar assurances to this nature made at an EU summit in December “have legal value.”

Delaying Brexit?

The main opposition Labour party, which wants a customs union with Brussels, also dismissed the EU’s assurances.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said that since the postponed December vote, May had “completely and utterly failed” to get the EU to bend its position.

He called the deal a “damaging shambles” that was “clearly bad for this country.”

Corbyn has promised a vote of no confidence on the back of a government defeat on Tuesday.

If the government loses the confidence vote, parties would have 14 days to find an alternative that had the support of a majority of MPs, or an election would be called.

Speculation is growing in Brussels and London that May could seek an extension to the Article 50 exit process if she loses the vote on Tuesday.

More than 100 cross-party members of the European parliament promised to back a delay to Brexit to allow voters to think again, in a letter to British citizens.

But May said the Brexit date should not be delayed — although she did not rule out the prospect.

“I don’t believe that the date of March 29 should be delayed,” May told parliament.
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President Donald Trump is warning Turkey it would face economic devastation if it strikes at the Kurds when U.S. forces pull out of Syria.

 

“Likewise, do not want the Kurds to provoke Turkey,” Trump said in a tweet late Sunday. Without giving any further details, he wrote “Create 20 mile (32 kilometers) safe zone.”

 

“Russia, Iran, and Syria have been the biggest beneficiaries of the long-term U.S. policy of destroying ISIS in Syria — natural enemies,” he tweeted.

 

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (YPG) were among the United States’ closest allies in the fight against Islamic State militants inside Syria.

 

Turkey says the YPG is tied to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) which has been fighting a long guerrilla war for more Kurdish autonomy inside Turkey.

 

Turkey considers the PKK a terrorist group and there are fears Turkey will attack Kurdish fighters inside Syria when the Americans leave.

Ibrahim Kalin, a spokesman for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, responded to Trump Monday, comparing the YPG to Islamic State militants.

“Mr @realDonaldTrump Terrorists can’t be your partners & allies,” he wrote on Twitter. “Turkey expects the US to honor our strategic partnership and doesn’t want it to be shadowed by terrorist propaganda. There is no difference between DAESH, PKK, PYD and YPG. We will continue to fight against them all.”

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Saturday he is “optimistic” the Syrian Kurds will not be abandoned and confident the U.S. and Turkey can work out a deal to assure the Kurds will be safe.

 

The Kurds are looking for protection against a possible Turkish attack and Syria’s Assistant Foreign Minister Ayman Sousan told reporters Sunday his government would like an intensified dialogue with the Kurds.

 

“Many of the Kurdish statements were positive regarding their concern for the unity of Syria,” he said.

 

Kurdish officials have said they would like Russian mediation in any talks with the Syrian government.

 

Trump tweeted Sunday that what he calls the “long overdue” U.S. pull-out from Syria has started “while hitting the little remaining ISIS territorial caliphate hard and from many directions.”

 

But a U.S. defense official has denied that it was withdrawing any troops from Syria, telling VOA the initial stages of the pull-out involve “equipment, not troops.”

 

Trump unexpectedly announced last month that U.S. forces would be leaving Syria, causing confusion and concern among U.S. allies. The White House hinted that a pull-out could be complete within 30 days.

 

National Security Advisor John Bolton has since said there is no time-frame for a withdrawal.

 

 
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A man with a knife rushed on to the stage during the finale of a charity event and stabbed a Polish mayor in the abdomen Sunday, leaving the politician in very serious condition in an attack that Polish media said had a political element.

Gdansk Mayor Pawel Adamowicz grabbed his belly and collapsed on stage during the “Lights to Heaven” fundraiser organized by the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity, Poland’s most important charity.

Polish President Andrzej Duda said he was informed that “doctors succeeded in reanimating the heart of the seriously injured Mayor Pawel Adamowicz and there is hope, but his condition is very difficult.” He called for people to pray for the mayor.

Polish broadcaster TVN said the assailant shouted from the stage that he had been wrongly imprisoned under a previous national government led by Civic Platform, a party to which the mayor formerly belonged. The suspected attacker was arrested.

TVN broadcast footage of the perpetrator, just after the attack yelling that his name was Stefan and that “I was jailed but innocent. … Civic Platform tortured me.”

Police said the suspect was a 27-year-old with a criminal record and had carried out bank robberies. A police spokesman, Mariusz Ciarka, said the attacker gained access to the area with a media badge.

Radio Gdansk said Adamowicz was stabbed in the area of his heart, but did not cite its source, while Rzeczpospolita described the mayor’s condition as “critical,” citing unidentified sources. A spokesman for the hospital called his condition “very serious.”

TVN footage showed Adamowicz on stage just before the attack with a sparkler in hand telling the audience that it had been a “wonderful day” and then the attacker coming toward him. Adamowicz had been on the streets of his city Sunday collecting money for the charity, along with volunteers around the country.

European Council President Donald Tusk, a former Polish prime minister who co-founded Civil Platform and is from Gdansk, wrote on Twitter: “Let’s all pray for Mayor Adamowicz. Pawel, we are with you.”

The head of the charity, Jerzy Owsiak, is a liberal critic of Poland’s current right-wing government. He blamed what he described as an atmosphere of hate under the ruling Law and Justice party for the attack on the mayor.

Owsiak referred to being personally depicted in a defamatory manner in an animation that ran on state TV last week and that also had anti-Semitic overtones.

The animation showed Owsiak as a clay figure being manipulated by a leading Civic Platform official who seized piles of cash that he collected. A Star of David was on one of the banknotes. The broadcaster apologized after the animation triggered an outcry.

Adamowicz, 53, has been mayor of Gdansk, a Baltic port city, since 1998. He was part of the democratic opposition born in that city under the leadership of Lech Walesa during the 1980s. After leaving Civic Platform, he was re-elected to a sixth term as an independent candidate in the fall.

As mayor, he has been a progressive voice, supporting LGBT rights and tolerance for minorities. He marched in last year’s gay pride parade, a rare action for a mayor in Poland.

He also showed solidarity with the Jewish community when the city’s synagogue had its windows broken last year, strongly denouncing the vandalism.

“Horrified by the brutal attack on Gdansk mayor Pawel Adamowicz,” said Frans Timmermans, a Dutch politician and leading European Union official. “Hope and pray he will recover. A great leader of his city and a true humanitarian.”

The Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity raises money to buy state-of-the-art medical equipment for Poland’s cash-strapped hospitals, mostly for children.

The last attack on a politician in Poland was in 2010 in Lodz. A man shouting that he wanted to kill Law and Justice party leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski fatally shot an aide to one of the party’s lawmakers to the European Parliament. A second man was stabbed and injured.

At the time Law and Justice was in the opposition and Kaczynski blamed the attack at an “atmosphere of hate” under the rival party, Civic Platform.

 
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French President Emmanuel Macron has released what he calls a “letter to the French,” encouraging a national debate on issues that have led to two months of anti-government protests.

 

“This is how I intend to turn anger into solutions,” Macron said Sunday. “Your proposals will help build a new contract for the nation, organizing the actions of the government and parliament, but also France’s positions at the European and international levels.”

 

Macron plans to hold a number of town hall meetings across the country over the next eight weeks.

 

Among the questions he is opening for debate are which taxes should be cut, what public spending should be a priority, are there too many bureaucratic layers, and questions surrounding the environment and immigration.

 

While Macron said no topic will be off the table, the right of people to seek asylum in France will not be up for debate.

“We won’t agree on everything, which is normal in a democracy. But at least we’ll show we’re a people which is not afraid of talking, exchanging [ideas], debating.”

 

So-called “yellow vest” marches erupted in France in November against a now-scrapped fuel tax. But they have since expanded into a general anti-government protest, especially in rural France, where many see Macron as someone more interested in the wealthy than their problems.

 

Some of the marches have turned violent, leading to government proposals to ban anyone wearing face masks from joining in or starting their own march.

 

The free speech group Reporters Without Borders has called on protest organizers to condemn violence against journalists covering the marches.

 

The group says reporters have been beaten, kicked, and threatened with rape.

 
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