Salekh Magamadov and Ismail Isaev, gay brothers detained in Chechnya, have begun a hunger strike after a judge denied a request to move their case to another region, reports Pink News.
The brothers fled to Russia in June 2020 with the help of the Russian LGBT Network after they were tortured in Chechnya, the site of deadly so-called “gay purges”, for running an opposition Telegram channel.
Tragically, the two men were forcefully returned to Chechnya in February 2021 on terrorism-related charges that activists say are completely fabricated. Magamadov and Isaev face up to 15 years in prison if convicted.
The Russian LGBT Network said in a statement through its crisis group “North Caucasus SOS” that Magamadov and Isaev “declared the beginning of a hunger strike”.
The Washington Blade reported the declaration came after a judge denied the brothers’ request to move their case from Achknoy-Martan, a locality in Chechnya’s Achkhoy-Martanovsky District, to another court in the semi-autonomous Russian region.
The non-profit group Rainbow Railroad helps LGBTQI+ people around the world escape state-sponsored violence. For more info visit: www.rainbowrailroad.org.
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https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2021/12/26/salekh-magamadov-ismail-isayev-hunger-strike-chechnya/
