Two Russians Returned to Torturers in Chechnya

Two Russians Returned to Torturers in Chechnya
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Randi Whipple | Michael O

Salekh Magamadov and Ismail Isayev escaped police in Chechnya in April of 2020, detained for being opposing the government, specifically on the Telegram app, an instant messaging service. However, experts believe they were also arrested for their sexual orientations.

In Chechnya, they were tortured for this opposition, and they were forced into making “apology” videos for their actions.

The gay men were helped by members of the Russian LGBT Network, posting them just outside of Moscow to be safe last June. 

However, on February 3, their safe house had been raided, and they were taken back into custody by Russian police. 

By February 6, the Russian police were sending them back to Chechnya, putting them in grave danger. 

According to some sources at the BBC, authorities in the region use all kinds of torture including electroshock to beatings. The region’s authoritarian leader Ramzan Kadyrov, who maintains close ties to Moscow, has previously suggested LGBT+ people should be deported to “purify our blood” and has been widely-criticized and condemned for his anti-LGBTQ+ views and policies. 

 


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