[:it]Bologna, April 12, 2017 – “In the last few hours, public opinion in our country has become aware of the dramatic persecution underway against LGBT people in Chechnya,” said Gabriele Piazzoni, national secretary of Arcigay. “What is happening just a few kilometers from the borders of Europe,” he continued, “is of unprecedented gravity and requires firm political intervention, as well as a mobilization that gives voice and substance to the indignation being raised around the world. Urgent questions have been tabled in Parliament, addressed to our Minister of Foreign Affairs, asking him to report on the information arriving from diplomatic agencies and the actions the Italian government intends to take: we urge timely and concrete responses on these issues. In the meantime, we ask activists to join the fundraising campaign launched by the All Out network To support the actions of the Russian LGBT network, which has been working for days to secure the safety of those targeted by this violent repression. We also support the appeal launched by Amnesty International, "This appeal is addressed to Alexander Ivanovich Bastrykin, chairman of the Russian Federation Commission of Inquiry, to ensure the safety and security of LGBT people in Chechnya. "It is extremely important at this time to make the Chechen authorities, and especially President Ramzan Kadyrov, feel the pressure of a vast global community and to guarantee those who are persecuted a safe route to escape violence," Piazzoni concludes.
