Brother of Magamadov and Isaev claims being tortured after his detention in Chechnya

After the first detention of Salekh Magamadov and Ismail Isaev, their relatives were also taken to a law enforcement body in Chechnya, where they were tortured, an elder brother of Salekh and Ismail said. According to a podcast prepared with the participation of authors of the documentary film “Welcome to Chechnya”, an advocate of the convicted brothers filed an appeal against the verdict.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that on May 11, the Supreme Court (SC) of Chechnya refused to commute the punishment of Salekh Magamadov and Ismail Isaev, who were convicted on the charge of aiding and abetting a militant.

According to Said, a brother of Salekh Magamadov and Ismail Isaev, on the day Salekh was detained, when the brothers still lived in Chechnya, he and other relatives were also detained. There were no legal grounds for their detention, the man believes.

The brother of Salekh Magamadov and Ismail Isaev reported that the brothers “were kept for two months” in a law enforcement body. “They forced them to learn the Koran and the anthem of Chechnya and the Russian Federation. Then they were released. Ismail was released on the condition that he would work for them. But he refused to do that and left the republic,” Said reported

Said believes that people are being prosecuted out of material interest. “When people are detained, their families are informed that their son is a gay or their daughter is a lesbian. Then they ask to pay money. If relatives refuse, then detainees will be simply killed,” the man said.

Said has also added that family members live “in constant anxiety.”

In February 2021, Oleg Orlov, a member of the board of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) “Memorial”*, stated that the both young men were among the “Chechen bloggers” detained in April 2020 and the law enforcement bodies then offered them “a cooperation.”

*The organization was included by the Russian Ministry of Justice (MoJ) in the register of NCOs performing the functions of a foreign agent and was liquidated by a court’s decision.