Watchdog

Amnesty International says it plans to hand petitions against the abuse of gay men in Chechnya to Russian embassies around the world on June 2.

In a May 31 statement, Amnesty said it had gathered more than half a million signatures worldwide on petitions against persecution of men perceived to be gay in the region in Russia's North Caucasus.

"The clock is ticking for gay men in Chechnya, who are living under the shadow of this terrifying purge," said John Dalhuisen, the London-based group's director for Europe and Central Asia.

"We are urging the international community to open their doors to all those fleeing homophobic persecution in Chechnya," he said.

Along with petition hand-ins, Amnesty will organize protests and other actions outside Russian embassies in Canada and several European countries this week and next.

After an initial report in the Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta on April 1 that said gay men in Chechnya were being rounded up, tortured, and killed, several outlets including RFE/RL have spoken to Chechens who have fled the alleged abuse.

In a report on May 26, Human Rights Watch said it had confirmed that police in Russia's Chechnya region tortured and humiliated dozens of gay or bisexual men during the spring of 2017 in "an apparent effort to purge them from Chechen society."

On May 29, after his talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, French President Emmanuel Macron said he had raised these reports with Putin.

Amnesty International called on Russian authorities "to proceed to a full-blown criminal investigation, and to take all necessary steps to ensure the safety of individuals who may be at risk in Chechnya."

TBILISI -- Dozens of people have demonstrated in the Georgian capital to protest the alleged abduction and forcible return of Azerbaijani investigative journalist Afqan Muxtarli to Baku.

Protesters held posters on May 31 saying "Freedom for Afqan Muxtarli!" in Georgian and English.

Meanwhile, Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili said in a statement that Muxtarli's "disappearance from the Georgian territory" was a "serious challenge to the Georgian state and its sovereignty."

"Georgia is a regional leader in terms of protection of human rights and journalists in particular," he said. "Upholding this standard is a matter of our state sovereignty."

Georgia's Interior Ministry said it had launched an investigation into the alleged "unlawful imprisonment" of Muxtarli.

Rights groups decried Muxtarli's alleged abduction and detention, saying it was another step in the Azerbaijani government's crackdown on critics.

Muxtarli and his wife fled to Georgia in 2015, fearing for their safety over his investigations into Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev's alleged links to corruption.

Muxtarli disappeared on May 29. His lawyer, Elcin Sadyqov, told RFE/RL on May 30 that his client was abducted in Tbilisi, tied up in a car, and beaten by men in civilian clothing who spoke Georgian.

They then changed cars twice before taking Muxtarli across the border to Azerbaijan, Sadyqov said.

He said that Muxtarli told him that as they crossed the border, 10,000 euros were planted in his pockets -- stating that this was done so that Azerbaijani police could subsequently charge him with crimes.

A spokesman for the Azerbaijani Prosecutor-General's Office, Eldar Sultanov, said on May 31 that Muxtarli was detained on suspicion of illegally crossing the border and that a large amount of cash was found in his possession. He said that Muxtarli resisted police.

Sadiqov said he saw bruises on Muxtarli’s face and forehead. His said his client complained of "severe pain" and said he thinks that his ribs are broken, the lawyer added.

Amnesty International expressed concern over the situation.

Amnesty's campaigner on the South Caucasus, Levan Asatiani, called Muxtarli's reported abduction "a deeply sinister development in a country known for its long crackdown on journalists and human rights defenders."

He demanded Muxtarli's immediate release and called on Georgian authorities to investigate the situation and "hold accountable all those involved in this gruesome operation.”

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Human Rights Watch (HRW) issued similar calls.

"Azerbaijan's crackdown on independent reporting has forced many journalists into exile," CPJ Europe and Central Asia program coordinator Nina Ognianova said in a statement. "Forcefully returning them to Azerbaijan is a further sign of the country's hostile behavior to the press."

"Azerbaijan has an appalling record of harassing and prosecuting government critics, and we are seriously concerned" for Muxtarli's safety, according to Giorgi Gogia, South Caucasus director at HRW.

Georgia’s Interior Ministry said on May 30 that it had launched an investigation into the alleged "unlawful imprisonment" of Muxtarli.

International rights defenders and Western governments have criticized Azerbaijan's government for what they say have been persistent clampdowns targeting independent journalists and rights defenders.

Aliyev, who has been president of the oil-rich South Caucasus country of almost 10 million people since shortly before his long-ruling father's death in 2003, has shrugged off the criticism.