Insi Chechnya’s gulag for gay men – POLITICO

Contents:

• CHECHNYA: ESPED GAY MEN SENT BACK BY RSIAN POLICE
• NO END TO CHECHNYA’S VLENT ANTI-GAY CAMPAIGN
• ‘THEY STARVE YOU. THEY SHOCK YOU’: INSI THE ANTI-GAY POGROM CHECHNYA
• INSI CHECHNYA’S GULAG FOR GAY MEN
• CHECHNYA LGBT: DOZENS 'TAED NEW GAY PURGE'
• CHECHEN LEAR: NO GAYS HERE – BUT IF THERE ARE, TAKE THEM AWAY
• THREATS OVER GAY CRACKDOWN VERAGE FORCE RSIAN JOURNALIST TO HIDG

CHECHNYA: ESPED GAY MEN SENT BACK BY RSIAN POLICE

Image source, Getty ImagImage ptn, Chechnya has long been acced of persecutg sexual moriTwo gay Chechen men who fled to Rsia after allegedly beg tortured have been returned to Chechnya and are "mortal danger", a rights group Rsian LGBT Network said Salekh Magamadov and Ismail Isayev had been seized and returned by Rsian police.

The group says they were later forcibly returned to thori Chechnya, a southern republic of people and other sexual mori face systematic persecutn predomantly Mlim Chechnya, where homophobia is regn's thorarian lear, Ramzan Kadyrov, has nsistently nied allegatns of illegal tentns and human rights and other ernment officials have even suggted there are no members of the LGBT+ muny source, RtersImage ptn, Chechen lear Ramzan Kadyrov (R) has nsistently nied allegatns of human rights abDpe official nials, dozens have e forward wh allegatns that they have been taed and tortured by thori bee of their sexual Magamadov and Mr Isayev are among LGBT Network said the men had arrived at a police statn the Chechen town of Gurm on Saturday.

"They are tired and ightened, " a spokman for the group, Tim Btsvet, told AFP news the ctody of Chechen thori, the men were "mortal danger", Mr Btsvet source, Getty ImagImage ptn, Chechnya has nied the existence of gay people the regnThe group has been monorg alleged ab Chechnya sce 2017, when dozens of gay people were reportedly 2019, the group alleged a h wave of persecutn and ab, accg Chechen police of killg two people unr torture. A ernment spokman dismissed that report as "plete li" said he was subjected to torture - cludg electric shocks and ptn, 'Rlan', a gay man who says he fled: "It's the extermatn of gay men"More on this story.

NO END TO CHECHNYA’S VLENT ANTI-GAY CAMPAIGN

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. In 2017 and 2019, Chechen thori orchtrated lethal purg of men perceived to be gay or bisexual.

In 2017, as reports of the purge surfaced, gay and bisexual men began pg Chechnya, knowg the dangers they faced. In September 2017, jt months after pg Chechnya and arrivg Canada, a Chechen gay man Toronto faced threats.

‘THEY STARVE YOU. THEY SHOCK YOU’: INSI THE ANTI-GAY POGROM CHECHNYA

But for the young man who lls himself Maksim, as for sr of other gay men arrted a pogrom this month Rsia’s Chechnya regn, pivoted to nearly two weeks of beatgs and said had started wh a chat room nversatn wh “a very good old iend who is also gay, ” and who suggted that they meet at an apartment. ”Gay men have never had an easy life Chechnya. But the targeted, llective punishment of gays that began last month unr s pro-Kreml lear, Ramzan A.

Kadyrov, is a new turn the regn’s long history of rights Gazeta, an opposn newspaper, first reported the pogrom, sayg that at least 100 gay men had been arrted and three killed the roundup. The victims e assumed nam their everyday followg acunt is based on terviews wh Maksim, who is his 20s, and two other gay men who were taed by Chechen secury agents. Homosexualy is taboo Chechnya and the mostly Mlim surroundg areas of the Cs regn southern Rsia.

“This society is highly homophobic, ” said Ekatera L. “Homosexualy is nmned.

INSI CHECHNYA’S GULAG FOR GAY MEN

”Neverthels, before the crackdown, gay men Chechnya uld at least lead social liv, if heavily closeted on, Maksim said.

“When two gay men meet, they don’t tell one another their te nam, ” Maksim said.

” Hill for The New York TimThe crackdown began after GayRsia, a rights group based Mosw, applied for perms for gay pri paras the Cs regn, promptg unterprotts by relig groups, the men said. In Chechnya, beme somethg even worse — a mass “prophylactic” cleansg of homosexuals, the secury service agents told the gay men as they round them men were held for as ltle as a day or as long as several weeks, acrdg to Human Rights Watch and to terviews wh gay men who later ped the regn. Kadyrov’s spokman, Alvi Karimov, said the reports of an anti-gay pogrom had to be false bee such men did not exist Chechnya.

CHECHNYA LGBT: DOZENS 'TAED NEW GAY PURGE'

Kadyrov characterized as “libelo” news reports that the secury servic Chechnya had been persecutg gay on Thursday, Mr. Pkov, told journalists that the Rsian thori had found no evince that the Chechen police had arrted gay quickly beme clear to Maksim and the other men that the Chechen thori were applyg the same tactics ed by Rsia and by Mr.

CHECHEN LEAR: NO GAYS HERE – BUT IF THERE ARE, TAKE THEM AWAY

Secury service agents took to posg as gay men lookg for dat on the Village and other chat rooms, or persuad those they had already ptured to lure acquatanc, those arrted said spread among gay Chechens.

We’re jt gay guys.

THREATS OVER GAY CRACKDOWN VERAGE FORCE RSIAN JOURNALIST TO HIDG

”That, seems, is sentially what happened to Maksim, who had been rrpondg wh his gay acquatance for some time.

His acunt of the ceptn ed to ta him was nsistent wh others documented by Human Rights Watch and wh the acunts of the two other gay men terviewed separately for this six of the men the apartment were transferred to a makhift cell an abandoned buildg, where they were tortured wh electricy one by one, Maksim 11 days, he was released to a male relative, who was told that Maksim was gay. ”Fearg for his life, Maksim turned to a gay rights group, the Rsian LGBT Network, based St.