Russian crime gangs find gays easy targets for blackmail
Homosexuality finds little acceptance in Russian society, many gays keep their sexual orientation hidden from their families, friends and co-workers – making them easy extortion targets for criminals.
Criminal gangs in Russia, operating through gay dating sites, have found a lucrative new blackmail target: homosexual men.
A St Petersburg economist, one of their latest victims, said several men burst into the apartment where he was meeting his date. Claiming that his date was under age, they threatened to call the police and to release a video they had secretly filmed unless he paid up.
The gay rights group Vykhod, or Coming Out, said they registered 12 such attacks in St Petersburg in 2015 and at least six more gay men have come to them so far this year. LGBT activists believe the real number is far higher and say the attacks have increased in the past two years.
Since homosexuality finds little acceptance in Russian society, many gays keep their sexual orientation hidden from their families, friends and co-workers. This makes them easy extortion targets for criminals.
Vykhod spokeswoman Nika Yuryeva said most of the recent attacks have followed the same pattern as the one seen by the St Petersburg economist.
Alexander Loza, a legal adviser at Positive Dialogue, an organisation that provides consulting services for gays, particularly those living with the HIV virus, has heard similar stories.