Trio brutally beat and stabbed victim to death in country’s far east region then put his body in a car they doused with gasoline and set on fire
Three men in Russia were found guilty on Monday (3 February) of brutally murdering a man because they thought he was gay.
They have been sentenced to between 9 and 12-and-a-half years in prison for the grisly crime which last took place last May in a village in the country’s Kamchatka Region, according to RIA Novosti.
The victim, 29, was beaten and stabbed in the chest, face and neck.
The trio then tried t0 cover up the crime by placing his body into a car and dousing it with gasoline before setting it on fire.
The attackers are aged 26, 22 and 18.
Anti-gay violence on Russia is now under intense scrutiny with the 2014 Olympics due to begin in Sochi next week.
The country’s anti-gay propaganda law has led to the spread of homophobic violence in Russia, Human Rights Watch said in a statement Monday.
‘The discriminatory impact of the anti-LGBT law and hateful language on state television have created a climate of intolerance against the Russian LGBT community,’ said Tanya Cooper, Russia researcher at Human Rights Watch.
‘Russian leaders should denounce, not feed, homophobic hysteria, or the Kremlin’s silence will be taken as condoning the violence.’
by Greg Hernandez
Source – Gay Star News
