Jailed and Tortured by Chechen Police, Mukaev Salman Is Now Seeking Live-Saving Help
This post is also available in: Русский ไทย Українська
Mukaev Salman, 39, was born and raised in Chechnya. In March of last year, he was jailed, beaten up, and tortured by the Chechen Police after being accused of being gay. Though the accusation was false, and though Salman is heterosexual, he was forced to reveal the names of gay men and his entire family was informed that he is gay.
After enduring senseless torture for seven days, a man who introduced himself as an FSS (Federal Security Services) officer offered to let him go on the basis that Salman would cooperate with Chechen officials to get to know gay men online and lure them into an apartment with hidden security cameras. Salman refused to participate in this frankly horrifying display of human rights violations, and turned to Сrisis Group NC SOS for help.
NC SOS is a group aiming to help LGBTQ+ people from Russia’s North Caucasus region reach a safe place if they face danger.
RELATED | Chechnya’s Horrific ‘Gay Purge’: A 4-Year Timeline of Abduction, Torture and Murder
Salman has since sought refuge in Armenia, and another country in the European Union is ready to accept him and grant him asylum.
However, because of the criminal case initiated against him, Armenia won’t let him leave. If he is sent back to Russia as the Armenian government is threatening to do, he will be handed back to Chechen security officials, who will most likely torture — and possibly execute — him.
Mukaev Salman’s situation is all the more dire due to medical issues. He has developed a tumor in his lung.
NC SOS has initiated an online petition detailing his circumstances and calling on Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to allow Salman to move to a country that will grant him the dignity of his life, rather than sending him back to Russia where he will inevitably suffer.
The petition reads:
We call on you not to extradite Salman to Russia, where his life will be in immediate danger, and to allow him to move to a safe country or to grant him asylum. We call on you for being a human, allowing a brave man to breathe freely and thus giving hope to a huge number of people who are now suffering in Chechnya.
