The brutal killing of a gay man in the southern city of Volgograd has sparked outrage among Russia's LGBT community, with activists calling authorities "accomplices" in the killing for stigmatizing sexual minorities.
The body of the 23-year-old man was found early Friday morning in the courtyard of an apartment building on Rossiiskaya Ulitsa in one of Volgograd's sprawling suburbs, investigators said in a statement. The victim, identified by gay rights activists as Vladislav Tornovoi, was badly beaten and found with wounds to his genitals, the statement said. Local media reported that Tornovoi's attackers raped him with an empty beer bottle and set fire to his corpse.
Investigators believe that Tornovoi was attacked after coming out to his drinking companions during alcohol-fueled Victory Day celebrations.