Russia Today TV, a propaganda mouthpiece of the Kremlin, reportedly told a Stockholm cab company to drop gay reporter Jamie Kirchick along the highway, in the middle of nowhere-Sweden, as retaliation for Kirchick using his appearance on the network to criticize President Putin’s draconian crackdown on gay and trans Russians.

UPDATE: God bless the Swedes. Apparently, when Russia Today called the Swedish cab company and told them to dump Kirchick alongside the side of the road, the Swedes refused and drove him all the way to the airport for free.

I’d written earlier about Kirchick’s appearance. He went on the network to ostensibly talk about the Bradley Manning verdict. But when his time came, Kirchick donned a pair of rainbow suspenders and started criticizing Russia’s new anti-gay “propaganda” law, that Russian authorities have threatened to use against gay and straight athletes, guests and media at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

Kirchick reports that Russia Today was so upset with his appearance that they directed the Stockholm cab company that drove him to and from Russia Today’s studio – Kirchick is in Sweden at the moment – to drop him off along the highway in the middle of nowhere.

Not only is such a move incredibly rude, it’s also incredibly dangerous. You’re in a foreign country, and quite possibly don’t even have a cell phone. And they drop you off along the highway in the middle of nowhere? Fortunately, this isn’t Russia – so at the very least Kirchick didn’t have to worry about being kidnapped by the anti-gay vigilante groups that have spread across Russia with the tacit-approval of the Russian government. Still, what if Russia Today had done this to a female reporter?

Russia Today’s actions go to show the lack of respect, and concern about safety, that the Russians have for anyone who dares speak out about their brutal crackdown on gay and trans Russians.

It’s no wonder people around the world are concerned about the safety of our Olympians, guests and media at the Sochi Olympics. The Russian authorities have little respect for human rights or human decency, especially when the victim of their ire is gay (or black).

The way Russia Today treated this gay reporter should be an omen to anyone thinking of attending the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. We are dealing with people who hate. And there are sadly few limits to what they’re willing to do, or condone, against human beings that they don’t even consider fully human.