The Russian LGBT Network, which announced on January 14 that it had received word of a new wave of arrests and torture in the Russian republic of Chechnya, has begun facilitating the evacuation of those affected by the current crisis. The LGBT Network noted in a press releasethat new information about the anti-LGBTQ persecution has emerged as some victims have been able to escape Chechnya and reach the Network’s representatives. While LGBT Network activists initially believed that the current wave of illegal arrests began in late December, they have now determined that new arrests were made as early as the beginning of that month.