Since February 2017, over 100 male residents of the Chechen Republic (part of the Russian Federation) assumed to be gay or bisexual have been rounded up, detained and tortured by authorities on account of their sexual orientation.[170] These crackdowns have been described as part of a systemic anti-LGBT "purge" in the region. The men are held and allegedly tortured in concentration camps.[171][172]

Allegations were initially reported in Novaya Gazeta on April 1, 2017[173] a Russian-language opposition newspaper, which reported that over 100 men have allegedly been detained and tortured and at least three people have died in an extrajudicial killing. The paper, citing its sources in the Chechen special services, called the wave of detentions a "prophylactic sweep."[173][174] The journalist who first reported on the subject has gone into hiding,[175][129] There have been calls for reprisals for journalists reporting on the situation.[176]

In response, the Russian LGBT Network is attempting to assist those who are threatened to evacuate from Chechnya.[177][178] Human rights groups and foreign governments have called upon Russia and Chechnya to put an end to the internments.[179]