The chair of the Chechen parliament, Magomed Daudov, played a key role in anti-gay purges in the Russian authoritarian republic of Chechnya, Human Rights Watch has revealed in a report published today.

Daudov, a long-time ally of the republic's notorious leader, Ramzan Kadyrov, personally oversaw the torture of men who were detained in secret prisons on suspicion of being gay, two detainees told Human Rights Watch. Daudov made “offensive comments” during the beatings, they said.

Another victim of the purge said he saw him in another prison in Grozny, Chechnya's capital.