2014 Sochi Winter Olympics: New UK Documentary Shows LGBT Russians Are Being 'Hunted'

The 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics are just hours from their beginning controversy surrounding Russia's treatment of its LGBT citizens is intensifying. A new documentary airing on the UK's Channel 4 called "Hunted" shows just how difficult the situation is. The documentary, produced by investigative reporter Liz MacKean depicts vigilante groups openly entrapping gay and lesbian people in Russia who are then beaten, abused and humiliated on multiple instances.

Liz MacKean spent several months in Russia ahead of the Sochi Winter Olympics. During her investigations, she uncovered that only 1 percent of gay and lesbian people are out in the open about their sexuality. The shocking documentary shows vigilante groups targeting gay men by entering chat rooms or online dating sites and posing as gay men themselves, then luring people out into the open only for them to be attacked, beaten and chased down like animals.

President Vladimir Putin's controversial anti-gay propaganda law was signed last July and expressly forbids "pro-gay propaganda" in any instance in which it might influence minors, effectively silencing the entirety of the Russian LGBT community. The laws have been seen as an expression of surging neo-conservativism in Russia and have become the basis for a string of attacks against the LGBT community.You can see the trailer to the shocking documentary below.