Chechnya Sentences Queer Siblings To Up To Eight Years In Prison.

starobserver.com.au:

A local Chechen court on Tuesday jailed queer siblings Salekh Magamadov (21) and Ismail Isaev (19) to almost a decade behind bars after finding them guilty of “complicity with illegal armed formations”.The siblings had first come to the notice of authorities in 2019 after an officer found an LGBTQI Pride flag on Ismail’s phone.

Chechen authorities had detained Salekh and Ismail last year, after the siblings tried to flee persecution. “Salekh Magamadov and Ismail Isaev must be immediately and unconditionally released,” said Marie Struthers, Amnesty International’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia Director, in a statement released prior to the sentencing.

Amnesty said that one of the siblings identifies as gay and the other is in the process of gender transitioning. Prosecutor requested the court to sentence #SalekhMagamadov to 8.5 yrs and #IsmailIsaev to 6.5 yrs of imprisonment in a case on aiding and abetting a militant, although there is no evidence that the brothers were familiar with the militant. #Chechnyahttps://t.co/EdrBkwxrZb pic.twitter.com/9IGUIovjPj— Caucasian Knot (@CaucasianKnotEn) February 12, 2022According to Amnesty International, Salekh and Ismail have “have faced a barrage of rights violations, including torture, at the hands of the Chechen authorities.”Russian LGBT network North Caucasus SOS said that Salekh was sentenced to eight years in jail, that included one year in prison and seven years in a strict regime colony.

Ismail was sentenced to six years in a common regime colony. According to rights groups, the siblings were booked under the country’s anti-terrorism laws on fabricated charges for allegedly providing groceries to a Chechen militant.