Chechen Telegram chat moderators questioned in Gudermes

The two young men taken out by Chechen law enforcers from Nizhny Novgorod, have been interrogated under two criminal cases as witnesses. A lawyer from the Russian LGBT Network has filed complaints with the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA), the Prosecutor's Office and the Investigating Committee about the illegal detention of young people.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that the Russian LGBT Network reported the kidnapping of two natives of Chechnya in Nizhny Novgorod. One of them is the 20-year-old Salekh Magamadov, the other is a minor named Ismail.

Both young men, natives of Chechnya, were brought to Chechnya and interrogated in Gudermes and Sernovodsk as witnesses in two criminal cases, said Alexander Nemov, a lawyer of the Russian LGBT Network who came to the region after the young men. The lawyer did not specify what criminal cases are in question.

Mr Nemov has filed complaints to the on duty department of the republic's MIA, to the on duty officer of the republic's Prosecutor's Office and the Chechen Investigating Committee about the illegal detention of his clients.

A petition has been submitted to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) for the adoption of urgent interim measures in relation to both young men, said Tim Bestsvet, the press secretary of the Russian LGBT Network. According to his story, while detaining the natives of Chechnya in Nizhny Novgorod, law enforcers failed to explain the reasons for their actions. The information about their whereabouts and the detention was confirmed only after the lawyer Nemov submitted applications on the fact of the kidnapping of the young men.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on February 6, 2021 at 10:50 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.