Anna Maria Corazza Bildt, on behalf of the PPE Group. – Mr President, I really want to join my colleagues in sharing the outrage for the real emergency that we are witnessing with – you said it, Ulrike – hundreds of men that have been arrested and detained in Chechnya just because they are perceived to be gay, and tortured to disclose their alleged gay friends. The systematic witch-hunt of human beings just because of their sexual orientation goes beyond discrimination: it is persecution, it is terrifying and unacceptable, and we cannot be silent and turn our eyes.

In the EU we should stand united and act together, and I welcome that our President has immediately taken action and a firm stand against those crimes, and I support further action by the European Commission. All Member States should call for the immediate release of those that are still detained illegally and to assist the victims. The Russian Federation should openly denounce those crimes and thoroughly investigate them in respect of international law.

There must be zero-tolerance against impunity, and all perpetrators should be brought to justice. The EU should condemn any intimidation towards human rights defenders who reported the violence against LGBTI in Russia. As a member of the United Nations and the Council of Europe, Russia should respect that all human beings are equal and no one has the right to persecute an individual or a group just because they are different or are perceived to be different.

In our times, hate, homophobia, violence, discrimination, can never be justified in the name of religious values. We have to continue – Mr President, I will conclude – to join forces to build a culture of tolerance, and I have co-signed this resolution wholeheartedly.