World | Russia Chechnya Requires Marrying Couples Be HIV-Negative Imams demand certificate before approving marriages By Nick McMaster Posted Jan 18, 2011 4:47 PM CST Copied A girl walks near city decorations marking the upcoming New Year in downtown Grozny, Chechnya, southern Russia, Sunday, Dec. 13, 2009. (AP Photo/Musa Sadulayev) Chechnya's Muslim authorities have handed down a new edict that requires all marrying couples to prove they are HIV-negative, Reuters reports. The order is not exactly a "law"—in fact, it violates Russian law, say human rights advocates—but given the wide influence of the nation's Islamic clerics, it carries great weight. An imam can now approve a marriage only after seeing an HIV-negative certificate. Read These Next Updated list of free days at national parks is raising some eyebrows. A kidney recipient died of rabies from the infected donor. Another stabbing on a Charlotte train gets Trump's attention. Judge blocks DOJ from certain evidence in Comey case. Report an error