It is an urgent warning: "I ask all who are still free to take this message seriously and flee the Republic as quickly as possible. (...) Be careful and leave the Republic as soon as possible." The message comes from the end of last week, posted in the Russian Facebook alternative Vkontakte, in the group called Aul, in which even homosexuals exchange anonymously.
There is talk of a "further arrest wave of Chechen boys and girls". Also in other groups in social media were published according to the Kremlin-critical newspaper "Novaya Gazeta" such references.
Activist Igor Kochetkov from the organization "LGBT network", which campaigns for gay rights in Russia, called details on Monday. He turned in a video to the public. It is entitled: "In Chechnya, gays are being killed again". Kochetkov speaks of the fact that about 40 people have been arrested in Russia's Muslim-dominated province in the Caucasus since the end of December, both men and women. "At least two people died as a result of torture."
Shocks and surges in prison
The arrests began after December 29, according to the activist. On that day, the administrator of a VKontakte group was detained, in which gay men in the North Caucasus exchange. The police have found a phone book with contacts.
According to the NGO, the detainees were taken to a prison in the city of Argun, about 20 kilometers east of Grozny. It's supposed to be the building where dozens of homosexuals were arrested for days in 2017, some for months, arrested and maltreated. Witnesses had reported to the "Novaya Gazeta" how they were tortured there with blows, sticks and electric shocks.
From spring to summer 2017, about 200 gays were arrested and at least three were killed, says activist Kochetkov in the video. In Chechnya, police, the National Guard and high-ranking officials are involved in the persecution of homosexuals. Policemen would do anything to prevent persecuted men and women from leaving the Republic. They are therefore taken the passports and threatened with legal proceedings. In addition, they are forced to sign blank forms that officials can later fill in their favor - another means of pressure.
Persecution has never stopped
The revelations of the "Novaya Gazeta" and human rights activists about the persecution of homosexuals triggered horror around the world two years ago. Chancellor Angela Merkel addressed President Vladimir Putin on the subject. Moscow was forced by pressure to initiate a preliminary investigation. However, this was never seriously conducted, criticize human rights activists. Moscow continues to grant the Chechen ruler Ramzan Kadyrov and his security apparatus.
Also in recent months, there have been repeated reports of arrests, extortion and torture of homosexuals. "The persecution of men and women suspected of being homosexual has never stopped, only the scale has changed," says Kochetkov. His organization has already brought about 150 people out of Chechnya to safety, and "LGBT network" has now set up a hotline to help those affected.
Gays do not officially exist
Homosexuals in Chechnya are considered "harmful elements", as the activist puts it. Gay men are considered a disgrace to the whole family. Many homosexuals are therefore silent for fear of humiliation and violence, even committed by relatives. There are always reports of honor killings in which gays are killed by their relatives.
The regime in Chechnya denies the persecution of homosexuals - and does so in a cynical way. "We do not have such people at all, we do not have gays, and if they exist, take them to Canada, away from us, in order to cleanse our blood, "declared tyrant Kadyrov in July 2017. The US therefore put him on the so-called Magnizkij list, which has an entry ban and account lockouts result. As a result, Facebook blocked Kadyrov's profiles with millions of followers, including Instagram - a humiliation for the despot, who liked to be featured on the network.
Kadyrov's spokesman, Alwi Karimov, dismissed new reports on the persecution of homosexuals as "total lies" to Interfax news agency on Monday. No one was arrested in Chechnya on suspicion of homosexuality, he claimed.
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) came to a different conclusion in December in a report. It documents the brutal hunt for homosexuals on 35 pages.