Gay Chechens granted asylum in Canada after covert rescue operation
The men and women were granted asylum as early as June but the rescue efforts were kept under wraps until last week for safety reason
More than two dozen gay and bisexual Chechen men and women have been granted asylum in Canada after being rescued from persecution in their country through a network of safehouses, the group that coordinated the operation said.
Twenty-two of the 31 men and women who were granted refuge have already arrived in Canada following a clandestine operation that appeared to have angered Russian authorities, it said.
Canadian advocacy group Rainbow Railroad said the Chechens, who were fleeing a violent crackdown against them in the Russian republic, had initially been sheltered in Russian safehouses.
Rainbow Railroad helped the people flee Chechnya, in southern Russia, through a global network of safe routes, the group said.
They were granted asylum as early as June but the rescue efforts were kept under wraps until last week for safety reasons, Kimahli Powell, Rainbow Railroad’s head, said by phone.
