Wele to Chechnya: the harrowg film about the regime's gay purge | Culture | The Guardian

Contents:

• A VICTIM OF THE ANTI-GAY PURGE CHECHNYA SPEAKS OUT: 'THE TTH EXISTS'
• NO END TO CHECHNYA’S VLENT ANTI-GAY CAMPAIGN
• CHECHNYA’S HORRIFIC ‘GAY PURGE’: A 4-YEAR TIMELE OF ABDUCTN, TORTURE AND MURR
• CHECHNYA LGBT: DOZENS 'TAED NEW GAY PURGE'
• 'ANY DAY YOU N BE TAKEN': INSI WHAT 'S LIKE TO BE GAY CHECHNYA
• RSIA: NEW ANTI-GAY CRACKDOWN CHECHNYA
• RSIA: ANTI-GAY PURGE CHECHNYA
• CHECHEN 'GAY PURGE' VICTIM: 'NO ONE KNOWS WHO WILL BE NEXT'
• RSIA: TWO YEARS AFTER CHECHNYA’S GAY PURGE VICTIMS STILL SEEK JTICE AS LGBTI FENR RECEIV ATH THREATS
• CHECHEN THORI ROUNDG UP AND KILLG GAY MEN 'PROPHYLACTIC PURGE,' RSIAN PAPER SAYS
• WELE TO CHECHNYA: THE HARROWG FILM ABOUT THE REGIME'S GAY PURGE
• JOURNALIST WHO UNVERED CHECHNYA’S ANTI-GAY PURGE ATTACKED
• RSIA IS REPORTEDLY INVTIGATG AN ALLEGED GAY PURGE CHECHNYA

A VICTIM OF THE ANTI-GAY PURGE CHECHNYA SPEAKS OUT: 'THE TTH EXISTS'

Though the three men didn’t expla why they had e, soon beme clear, as they took Dzhabrailov’s phone, mand his password and started surg the vice for msag and photos that would prove he was guilty of somethg nsired eply shameful the nservative, predomantly Mlim republic: beg gay. ” Dzhabrailov is one of at least dozens of men who were taed and tortured an anti-gay “purge” that took place Chechnya 2017, acrdg to news reports, human rights anizatns and European agenci. Dpe ternatnal attentn and outcry that followed the 2017 purge — cludg lls for Rsian officials to vtigate reported lawlsns and misbehavr among Chechen law enforcement — human rights anizatns say another anti-gay sweep took place late 2018 and early 2019.

One ernment spokperson said wasn’t possible bee gay people “don’t exist” that part of Rsia and if they did, their own relativ would be so ashamed that they “would have sent them to where they uld never return. Given the strength of the taboo Chechnya, beg openly gay “is simply not an optn” and “g out of the closet would be suicidal, ” says Tanya Loksha, associate director for Human Rights Watch Europe and Central Asia. The iend was Viskhan, a 28-year-old who prefers to only e his first name and tells TIME through a translator that he had left the republic years earlier bee he was also persecuted for beg gay.

NO END TO CHECHNYA’S VLENT ANTI-GAY CAMPAIGN

” Experts on LGBT rights say that lawlsns — along wh relign or nservative beliefs about genr norms — tends to be the mon thread when to intifyg plac where gay or transgenr people are most at-risk.

The Rsian LGBT Network has reported that May 2021, Chechen-speakg men abducted Ibragim Selimkhanov Mosw and forcibly returned him to Chechnya’s pal Grozny, where thori terrogated him about gay people the regn. April 1, 2021, marks four years sce the world at large was first ma aware of Chechnya’s gay purge — atroci mted agast LGBTQ people wh the Rsian republic’s borrs, a horrific, ongog stratagem of abductn, tament, torture and murr. Gradually rebed by Wtern ernments over the years as first-hand acunts began to emerge, Chechnya’s gay purge has largely been ignored — if not supported through omissn — by Rsian Print Vladimir Put and his ernment.

CHECHNYA’S HORRIFIC ‘GAY PURGE’: A 4-YEAR TIMELE OF ABDUCTN, TORTURE AND MURR

” Lol thori tell a news agency, “You nnot arrt or reprs people who jt don’t exist the republic, ” suggtg that Chechnya has no gay cizens, and that if did, those cizens’ relativ would have executed them unr honor killg ctoms. Amnty Internatnal lnch an “urgent actn” mpaign askg dividuals to wre to Rsian thori “urgg them to rry out prompt, effective and thorough vtigatns to the reports of abductns and killgs of men believed to be gay Chechnya and to ensure that anyone found guilty or plic such crim will be brought to jtice acrdance wh the laws of the Rsian Feratn. One of the victims of Chechnya’s gay purge, an aforementned TV journalist, has all footage of his past reportg erased by the Chechen State TV and Rad Company he worked for — “as if he simply did not exist.

It’s now believed that up to several hundred gay men have been round up, some killed, Chechnya, and The Guardian publish this story followg terviews wh gay men who claim they were tortured secret tentn facili.

CHECHNYA LGBT: DOZENS 'TAED NEW GAY PURGE'

As part of a special vtigatn, CNN releas terviews wh multiple victims of Chechnya’s gay purge (their inti ncealed), who discs the form their torture took and the “ath sentence” that has always rulted om beg openly gay the Southern Rsian republic. Speakg to Gay Star News, a Foreign and Commonwealth Office spokperson the UK nfirms that Ramzan Kadyrov, head of the Chechen Republic, has threatened to rid the area of homosexualy “by Ramadan, ” which falls on May 26. Followg reports of a 17-year-old man thrown off a nth floor balny by his own uncle for beg gay, Hor announc the lnch of s “Know Your Rights” mpaign, an tnal effort to help make gay men and travelers aware of their rights different untri around the world.

One week after Rsia promised to nduct an vtigatn to Chechnya’s gay purge, the Rsian Embassy to Israel wr to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, “There are no victims of persecutn, threats or vlence” the republic.

One of many artists and activists spreadg rmatn and brgg awarens to Chechnya’s gay purge, Brooklyn-based illtrator Pl Tuller sells a new T-shirt, wh 100% of the profs gog to the Rsian LGBTQ Network.

'ANY DAY YOU N BE TAKEN': INSI WHAT 'S LIKE TO BE GAY CHECHNYA

Three French LGBTQ groups — Stop Homophobia, Mose and Come Idaho France — file a plat agast Chechnya wh the Internatnal Crimal Court, accg the Rsian republic of “a policy of genoci” towards gay people and blamg Chechen print Ramzan Kadyrov and his officials for a “wave of persecutn. The Baltic News Service reports that the eastern European natn of Lhuania has granted visas to at least two men who fled Chechnya’s gay purge, timed wh the Internatnal Day Agast Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia (IDAHOT).

RSIA: NEW ANTI-GAY CRACKDOWN CHECHNYA

Novaya Gazeta publish a report sayg 26 people have now been murred “extrajudicial killgs” as part of Chechnya’s gay purge, and go on to acce Chechen thori of a systematic sabotage of Rsia’s vtigatn efforts. The ostensible purpose of the torture is to get the nam of other gay men, but one refugee tells Human Rights Watch that if a victim giv up rmatn, actually prolongs the torture hop of more rmatn.

On the eve of the first G20 summ meetg between Tmp and Put, The Rsian LGBT Network — which has at this pot helped approximately 40 gay Chechens pe the regn — says has “received more lls om Chechnya the last 72 hours” and has “credible evince that arrts are happeng aga. While beg terviewed, Kadyrov refers to Chechnya as “a pletely mocratic republic, ” touts the republic’s eedom of speech and happy cizens, and dismiss all claims of Chechnya’s gay purge as “nonsense.

RSIA: ANTI-GAY PURGE CHECHNYA

The report has three other ma takeaways: (1) the cultural ndns that set the stage for Chechnya’s anti-gay purge; (2) how Chechen thori are fdg spected homosexuals, cludg roadsi stops, home raids and workplace viss; and (3) the torture methods ed Chechnya’s gay purge, cludg electrocutn, beatgs, starvatn, hydratn, isolatn, forced nudy and verbal abe. Khudoberdi Nurmatov, a 30-year-old openly gay journalist who helped unver Chechnya’s gay purge while workg for Novaya Gazeta, has his portatn to Uzbekistan temporarily halted by a Rsian urt.

On Canada’s secret work to assist gay Chechen refuge, Rabow Railroad’s Executive Director Kimahli Powell says, “We need to be discreet about the program for as long as possible to mata their safety. Rankg exam everythg om anti-discrimatn legislatn, marriage equaly, adoptn and transgenr rights to negative factors like relig fluence, hostile lols, whether or not Pri events have been banned, and the really dangero stuff: prosecutn, murr and ath sentenc for beg gay. The Rsian LGBT Network nfirms to Hor that Chechnya’s gay purge has neher stopped nor let up: “We know for sure that persecutn of LGBT people Chechnya did not stop; we ntue to receive rmatn that people are still kidnapped, taed and tortured.

CHECHEN 'GAY PURGE' VICTIM: 'NO ONE KNOWS WHO WILL BE NEXT'

Though some women had been round up the purge’s first wav, was prevly more mon for them to be outed to their fai and then eher imprisoned, murred or subjected to “homophobic rape” at home. Most people Rsia haven’t even heard about Chechnya’s gay purge, says the Rsian LGBT Network: “Almost all feral mass media Rsia is state-ntrolled, and there isn’t that much rmatn about this persecutn. Image source, Getty ImagImage ptn, Chechen lear Ramzan Kadyrov has prevly claimed the reports were "ma up"Activists Rsia say there has been a new crackdown agast LGBT people Rsian LGBT Network believ about 40 people have been imprisoned sce December - two of whom they say have died unr group has been monorg alleged ab the maly Mlim Rsian republic sce 2017 when dozens of gay people were reportedly taed.

"Ricky's oral was mid-2018 and was a faiar early 2017, the world had beme aware of reports that Chechen thori were roundg up and torturg dozens of men they spected of beg gay, what me to be known as a "gay purge". The nam of most of those terviewed have been changed at their requt out of ncern the Chechen thori or their fai might harm acunts pat a picture of a place where there is now virtually no space to be gay, where datg rri potentially lethal nsequenc and the supprsn of their inty is obligatory for LGBT people.

RSIA: TWO YEARS AFTER CHECHNYA’S GAY PURGE VICTIMS STILL SEEK JTICE AS LGBTI FENR RECEIV ATH THREATS

He has done that, g allegedly savage methods, and the procs Kadyrov has remolled Chechnya around himself, erectg a police state and a cult of personaly built around an obssive machismo centered on sport, particularly martial the majory-Mlim regn, wh a eply nservative culture, beg gay was never accepted. "In 2017, that nservative hostily to homosexualy seemed to nvert to anised terror, part of a broar nservative mpaign that has also targeted dg and alhol Dzhabrailov, 27, only the send man to e forward publicly about his tentn 2017, told ABC News that armed police took him om the hair salon where he was workg. For 14 days, he said, he was held a basement wh several other gay men, taken out for torture ssns, where he was electrocuted and subjected to a mock Dzhabrailov tells ABC News'' Jam Longman the torture and terrogatn he says he endured at the hands of Chechen News"They put me on the wall, put bag on my head, " he remembered.

CHECHEN THORI ROUNDG UP AND KILLG GAY MEN 'PROPHYLACTIC PURGE,' RSIAN PAPER SAYS

Aluadov, who was also sanctned 2013 by the Uned Stat over the same se as Ddov, claimed the gay men allegg torture were simply seekg asylum the Wt or that they themselv were likely not Chechens. Insi, Aluadov showed the reporters the empty cells, which were clean and looked rarely ed, as though mostly sisted he uldn't nceive how a Chechen man uld be gay and said was not him but Chechen society that will not tolerate gay men.

Victims have repeatedly scribed beg hand back over to their fai wh a suggtn that they kill them themselv and many of speakg anonymoly said they feared their relativ would harm them if they found such circumstanc, discsg homosexualy, let alone g out is impossible.

He eventually sought asylum , a bisexual man livg the neighborg republic of Dagtan, where attus are very siar to Chechnya, had a wife and a 1-year-old baby when he said his life was men lured him to an apartment where they beat him and forced him to adm he was gay on mera.

WELE TO CHECHNYA: THE HARROWG FILM ABOUT THE REGIME'S GAY PURGE

'It’s harr for women bee they n’t leave'Many LGBT Chechens lk the eptn of more systematic vlence the past few years to a worseng atmosphere of homophobia Rsia, signaled by the passg of the notor so-lled "anti-gay propaganda" law law, which effectively banned public displays of homosexualy, has been cricized by rights groups as green-lightg discrimatn and vlence agast LGBT over Rsia, gay people reported creased hostily.

The men’s acunts are nsistent wh a crime report filed on January 29 wh Rsia’s chief vtigative agency by the Rsian LGBT (lbian, gay, bisexual, and transgenr) Network, a proment LGBT rights group, which stated that December and January, police Grozny, Chechnya’s pal, round up and abed 14 men. “There wasn’t anythg remotely remblg an effective vtigatn to the anti-gay purge of 2017, when Chechen police round up and tortured dozens of men they spected of beg gay, ” said Rachel Denber, puty Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch.

Two of the men whose time unlawful tentn overlapped gave closely matchg scriptns of the tentn facily, the other mat, the daily route, the police officials, and the abe flicted on prumably gay ptiv. Police also forced several of the prumed gay mat to clean the toilet and wash floors and doors along a rridor, makg clear to them and the other mat that the gay tae were given “women’s work” as a form of huiatn.

JOURNALIST WHO UNVERED CHECHNYA’S ANTI-GAY PURGE ATTACKED

Activists of the Rsian LGBT Network told Human Rights Watch that based on the rmatn the work received om var sourc and cross-checked, Chechen police taed at least 23 men between December and April bee of their prumed homosexualy. In November 2018, 16 participatg stat of the Organizatn for Secury and Co-Operatn Europe (OSCE) voked the anizatn’s “Mosw Mechanism” and appoted a rapportr to look to allegatns of ab Chechnya, cludg the anti-gay purge.

“Rsian thori should immediately vtigate the new wave of torture and huiatn by the Chechen police of men they believe to be gay and, fally, rry out an effective vtigatn to the purge of 2017, ” Denber said. The 42-page report, “‘They Have Long Arms and They Can Fd Me’: Anti-Gay Purge by Lol Authori Rsia’s Chechen Republic, ” is based on first-hand terviews wh victims of the mpaign agast gay men that Chechnya’s law enforcement and secury officials nducted sprg, 2017.

Startg the last week of Febary and ntug until at least the first week of April, police round up men they spected of beg gay, held them secret lotns for days or even weeks, and tortured, huiated, and starved them, forcg them to hand over rmatn about other men who might be gay.

RSIA IS REPORTEDLY INVTIGATG AN ALLEGED GAY PURGE CHECHNYA

Chechnya’s learship said was ready to operate wh feral quiri, but also vehemently nied the very existence of gay people Chechnya and repeatedly berated and threatened journalists and human rights fenrs for raisg the issue. Novaya Gazeta, a proment pennt Rsian newspaper, first reported the anti-gay purg, and Rsia’s LGBT Network, an pennt Rsian group that supports lbian, gay, bisexual, and transgenr people, has provid emergency support to the victims.

Chechnya is a highly nservative majory-Mlim society and homosexualy is generally viewed as severely tatg fay honor – an attu fueled by high-level Chechen officials who have publicly ndoned honor killgs of gay and bisexual men.

Abductn-style tentns, enforced disappearanc, torture, extrajudicial executns and llective punishment practic are ed agast all manner of people whom Kadyrov brand “unsirable”: lol dissints, pennt journalists, Salafi Mlims, people who e dgs and alhol, and spected homosexuals.