Mr Gay Limerick is appalled by the lack of action from Irish institutions following reports of imprisonment, torture and murder of gay men in Chechnya

In light of recent reports which have alleged that gay men are being detained, tortured and even killed at concentration camps in Chechnya, Mr Gay Limerick, Dr Christian Moretti, has written an open letter urging Ireland to take action:

My name is Christian G. Moretti, I am a secondary school teacher, I am also a novelist, LGBTQI activist and current Mr Gay Limerick 2016/2017.

I am writing this open letter because I want to express my shock and concern about Ireland not taking a firm position about what is being reported in Chechnya.

Hundreds of gay men have been arrested in the previous days, some of them have been murdered (the exact numbers are not known because, as you all may know, in these circumstances it is extremely difficult to obtain objective and accurate information). Chechen propaganda is repressing any sort of realistic information and declares its institutions as innocent.

The concerning part of their attack is the fact that they deny the existence of gay men in their territories. By so doing, they obliterate the very fundamental idea of homosexuality. Of course, as we all know in Europe, these men do exist and have been taken to what seem ‘concentration camps’ for homosexuals.

This is all we know. We do not know anything about their welfare, what sort of tortures they are suffering and, indeed, we do not know if they are alive.

As an activist, I am deeply concerned about this situation and I am appalled that the Irish Institutions have not, yet, taken a firm position.

I was born in Italy and moved to Ireland in 2011, I love this country and I consider it my home, my homeland now. I know how Ireland has changed in the last twenty years in order to guarantee equality and justice to all its citizens. I also know how dedicated and passionate Ireland is when it comes to humanitarian emergencies; the truth is, Irish people are well known all over the world for their generosity and kindness.

I, therefore, appeal to these values of generosity and kindness to ask you to act in this regard, to demand an international investigation, to play the role that we have towards other human beings. Ireland has freed itself from the chains of oppression and domination, thus, we all have a duty to safeguard the right of freedom inside and outside our borders.

Thanking in advance,

Kind Regards,

Dr Christian G. Moretti, Mr Gay Limerick 2016/2017

For those wishing to take action, check out these three things that you can do to help LGBT people in Chechnya, including signing the Mr Gay Ireland Activists’ petition which has already reached 1000 signatures.

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