Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to the (a) Russian Government and (b) international organisations on the treatment of LGBT people in Chechnya, Russia.

We are deeply concerned by reports of the detention and ill-treatment of over 100 men in Chechnya because of their sexual orientation. The Minister of State, The Baroness Anelay of St Johns, released a statement on 7 April outlining the Government’s concern at the reports and called upon the Russian authorities to promptly investigate and ensure that perpetrators of human rights abuses are brought to justice. The Foreign Secretary also expressed his serious concerns on social media. Officials from the British Embassy in Moscow reiterated these messages directly to the Russian government on 13 April, and are working with international partners in Russia as part of wider lobbying efforts. The EU made a statement on behalf of Member States at the Permanent Council of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) on 6 April and the UK Permanent Representative to the Council of Europe delivered a statement in the Committee of Ministers on 19 April.