A Russian LGBTI activist was killed over the weekend after being named to a former website that encouraged people to ‘hunt’ LGBTI people, activists, and journalists.

Police found the body of Yelena Grigoryeva, 41, in St. Petersburg on Sunday (21 July).

A source confirmed to Gay Star News that someone killed Grigoryeva after her name appeared on a website inspired by the horror franchise Saw. This website, which was recently shut down, published the personal information of LGBTI people and encouraged others to ‘hunt’ them.

The website, known as Saw, offered legal protections to users and said they could do ‘anything but kill them’.

Police investigating her death as a murder

Russian police are currently investigating Grigoryeva’s death as a murder. When they found her body, they discovered seven stab wounds.

Grigoryeva reportedly asked a friend to watch her cat in the possibility of her death.

Prior to the weekend, Grigoryeva had received numerous death threats, both online and off. They became more frequent after her name appeared on the Saw website.

According to fellow activist Dinar Idrisov, Grigoryeva and her lawyer informed authorities about the threats and possibility of violence, but there was ‘no noticeable reaction’.

Who was Yelena Grigoryeva, a caring activist?

Grigoryeva was an activist with the St. Petersburg-based Alliance of Heterosexuals and LGBT People for Equal Rights.

A source told GSN that Grigoryeva, who identified as bisexual, had a ‘real drive for social justice’. She regularly attended protests for a variety of issues, including LGBTI rights, domestic violence survivors, Crimean Tatars, and more.

‘She was a very caring person,’ a friend said of her.

Grigoryeva leaves behind a 20-year-old daughter.

See also

Russia fined thousands of dollars for anti-LGBTI rulings

Bi man tortured after finding video evidence of Chechnya anti-LGBTI purge

Russian LGBTI activist charged with homosexuality ‘propaganda’