Latest Chechen Atrocity: Gay Teen's Uncle Throws Him Off Balcony to His Death

In the latest story of antigay atrocities in Chechnya, a gay teen has died after being pushed off a balcony by his uncle to "wash the shame" from his family, London's Independent reports.

Russian and other European media have reported that Chechen authorities, in addition to rounding up gay and bisexual men and torturing them in concentration camps, have told families of these men to kill them or else the state will deal with them.

In the most recent report, published by the Independent today, the newspaper cites Russian outlets saying the 17-year-old was pushed off a ninth-floor balcony. The accounts do not give the young man's name.

At least three other men have reportedly died as a result of the purge, which was first revealed a month ago, but the actual number may be as high as 30, if killings carried out by families are included. At least 100 gay and bisexual men, tracked down through social media or blackmail of their friends, have been detained in the camps. They are apparently released to their families after a few weeks, but they are no safer there.

A survivor of the camps recently told the France 24 news channel that when a fellow survivor was released into his family's custody, the authorities told family members, "Your son is a homosexual -- sort it out or we'll do it ourselves." The man's relatives then killed and buried him in a forest.

Some survivors have managed to escape Chechnya, a semiautonomous republic within Russia, and find shelter in other countries. "If I go home, my own family will kill me," said the man interviewed by France 24.

Despite the survivors sharing their stories, Chechen government officials have continued to insist that there is no purge going on -- indeed, they even claim there are no gay people in the republic. Russian authorities have also contended there is no purge, but last week President Vladimir Putin finally agreed to investigate the matter after Russia's human rights ombudsman put in a request.