Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov has publicly vowed to exterminate his country’s LGBT community by the start of the Muslim holiday of Ramadan on May 26.

Britain’s deputy foreign secretary Alan Duncan revealed the chilling threat during a parliament session about the ongoing “purge” of homosexuals in Chechnya. More than 100 gay men have reportedly been detained and tortured in concentration camps, and at least four are believed to have been killed.

“Human rights groups report that these anti-gay campaigns and killings are orchestrated by the head of the Chechen republic, Ramzan Kadyrov,” Duncan stated. “He has carried out other violent campaigns in the past, and this time he is directing his efforts at the LGBT community. Sources have said that he wants the [LGBT] community eliminated by the start of Ramadan.”

Kadyrov previously denied that any persecution is taking place, because “no gay people exist in Chechnya.”

Putin press secretary Dmitry Peskov claims investigators have not found evidence to support reports of a gay purge in Chechnya.

h/t: PinkNews