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Ramazan Kadyrov denies existence of gay men in Chechnya, but says 'if there are any, take them to Canada'
Chechnya's strongman leader has harshly denounced claims that his Russian Caucasus republic has tortured and even killed gay men, denying that there even are any homosexual men in his region.
"This is nonsense. We don't have those kinds of people here. We don't have any gays. If there are any, take them to Canada,"Kadyrov said in an interview with HBO Real Sports cable television show.
HBO released excerpts of the June 30 interview on Friday. Kadyrov also called those making the allegations "devils."
"God damn them for what they are accusing us of," he said.
After two separatist wars in the 1990s, the predominantly Muslim Russian republic became increasingly conservative under the late president Akhmat Kadyrov and then his son Ramzan, who was appointed by Vladimir Putin in 2007.
Kadyrov's security forces have been widely accused of extensive human-rights abuses including abductions and killings in Chechnya. A former officer of his security forces has been convicted of the 2015 assassination of Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov.
He has strongly promoted Chechnya's Islamic culture, including opening what is claimed to be Europe's largest mosque in the capital, Grozny. An avid boxer, he has promoted mixed martial arts and other fighting sports in the republic. HBO says its show, which airs on Tuesday, examines strong Kadyrov's sports initiatives.
In the interview excerpts, the Chechen leader claimed the United States "is conducting an anti-Russian policy against the country's leadership" but then dismisses the country.
"America is not really a strong enough state for us to regard it as an enemy of Russia. We have a strong government and are a nuclear state. Even if our government were completely destroyed, our nuclear missiles would be automatically deployed," he said.