Story highlights Biden now oversees a foreign policy center at the University of Pennsylvania

CNN has not confirmed the reports

Washington (CNN) Former Vice President Joe Biden condemned reported anti-LGBT violence in the Russian republic of Chechnya and called on President Donald Trump's administration to raise the issue directly with Russians in a statement to CNN Friday.

Biden, who now oversees a foreign policy center at the University of Pennsylvania and domestic policy center at the University of Delaware, said he was "disgusted and appalled" by reports that "authorities in the Russian republic of Chechnya have rounded up, tortured, and even murdered individuals who are believed to be gay."

"I hope that the current administration lives up to the promises it has made to advance human rights for everyone by raising this issue directly with Russia's leaders," Biden said. "The United States must lead the way to demand an end to these egregious violations of human rights."

Human rights groups and media in the Russian republic have reported an increasing number of reports of gay men disappearing. Some have reported being detained, while the fate of others remains unknown.

Novaya Gazeta, the newspaper that broke the story, reported earlier this month that more than 100 gay men had been detained and three have been murdered.

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