Ottawa must decide if it wants to help Chechnya's gay men

Aid agencies are urging the Trudeau government to establish an emergency relocation program for gay men fleeing persecution in Chechnya. But thus far, Ottawa is prepared to offer only moral support.

In the weeks since the Russian independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta first reported that Chechen authorities had detained and physically abused an estimated 200 homosexuals, three of whom have reportedly been killed, about 30 gay men have fled the republic, according to Kimahli Powell, executive director of Rainbow Railroad.