In Chechnya, LGBTQ+ People Were Treated as Extremists Long Before the Supreme Court Ruling
On November 30, 2023, the Russian Supreme Court officially designated the "international LGBT movement" as an extremist organization and banned its activities. While the enforcement mechanisms remain unclear due to the case's classified nature, the ruling merely codified practices that have long been in place in Chechnya. According to the human rights group SK SOS, LGBTQ+ individuals in the republic have for years been equated with witches, terrorists, and militants.
Those detained on suspicion of homosexuality are held in cells typically reserved for individuals accused of involvement in illegal armed groups. Timur, a 28-year-old man, was arrested after security forces checked his phone and found memes. He spent 18 days in solitary confinement — in complete darkness, in a cell scrawled with messages from previous detainees. Under torture, he was pressured to confess to being gay, but refused, fully aware of the potential consequences.
Another man from Grozny was held in a basement for several months without any official charges. He was imprisoned alongside others suspected of aiding militants or using drugs. All detainees were tortured and coerced into signing confessions. For LGBTQ+ individuals, the security forces used the same language and tactics employed against alleged extremists.
Human rights defenders report that Chechen law enforcement often blackmails detainees with threats of criminal charges unless they agree to "inform" on other LGBTQ+ people. The charges used for leverage include extremism, weapons possession, aiding terrorism, or even plans to join ISIS in Syria.
One of the most high-profile cases was the arrest of Salekh Magamadov and Ismail Isaev — two young queer men who refused to cooperate with Chechen police. They were forcibly taken from Nizhny Novgorod to Grozny, where they were accused of delivering food to a militant and sentenced to 8 and 6 years in prison, respectively. Their case became a symbol of the systematic violence faced by queer people in Chechnya.
SK SOS emphasizes that the practice of treating LGBTQ+ individuals as extremists and terrorists had been in place in Chechnya long before the Supreme Court’s ruling. Now, this practice has gained formal legal backing at the federal level, increasing the threat to the safety and human rights of queer people across Russia.
Those detained on suspicion of homosexuality are held in cells typically reserved for individuals accused of involvement in illegal armed groups. Timur, a 28-year-old man, was arrested after security forces checked his phone and found memes. He spent 18 days in solitary confinement — in complete darkness, in a cell scrawled with messages from previous detainees. Under torture, he was pressured to confess to being gay, but refused, fully aware of the potential consequences.
Another man from Grozny was held in a basement for several months without any official charges. He was imprisoned alongside others suspected of aiding militants or using drugs. All detainees were tortured and coerced into signing confessions. For LGBTQ+ individuals, the security forces used the same language and tactics employed against alleged extremists.
Human rights defenders report that Chechen law enforcement often blackmails detainees with threats of criminal charges unless they agree to "inform" on other LGBTQ+ people. The charges used for leverage include extremism, weapons possession, aiding terrorism, or even plans to join ISIS in Syria.
One of the most high-profile cases was the arrest of Salekh Magamadov and Ismail Isaev — two young queer men who refused to cooperate with Chechen police. They were forcibly taken from Nizhny Novgorod to Grozny, where they were accused of delivering food to a militant and sentenced to 8 and 6 years in prison, respectively. Their case became a symbol of the systematic violence faced by queer people in Chechnya.
SK SOS emphasizes that the practice of treating LGBTQ+ individuals as extremists and terrorists had been in place in Chechnya long before the Supreme Court’s ruling. Now, this practice has gained formal legal backing at the federal level, increasing the threat to the safety and human rights of queer people across Russia.