In early April 2017, the Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta reported that men in the Republic of Chechnya accused of being gay had been “illegally detained, beaten, tortured with electric shocks” and held for ransom in “secret prisons” around Chechnya, including a former military facility in the town of Argun. Some of the detainees were believed to have died at the hands of security forces.

These acts are against everything the United States stands for, and the President cannot let this go on in a country that he has called an ally. Former Vice President Joe Biden, members of Congress, and UN officials have all come out to condemn these attacks. As the leader of the free world, you must speak out against these atrocities.