26 November 2018, 23:58
Court dismisses gay Maxim Lapunov's complaint about torture in Chechnya
In Stavropol, the court has dismissed an appeal filed by Maxim Lapunov about the refusal to institute criminal proceedings on a beating in Chechnya.
The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on October 16, 2017, Maxim Lapunov, a native of the Omsk Region, said that he was detained in Chechnya on suspicion of homosexuality, kept in a basement for 12 days, and beaten. At first, investigators refused to institute a criminal case, but on November 1, 2017, the decision with refusal was cancelled.
Maxim Lapunov claims law enforcers forced him to call other members of the Chechen LGBT community and schedule meetings with them at which they would be detained by law enforcers.
At present, Maxim Lapunov stays abroad, since he fears for his life.
Maxim Lapunov was the first person who spoke publicly about his detention in Chechnya. The next wave of gay detentions was launched in June 2017, states the report of the "Russian LGBT-Network", based on the testimonies of 33 people from Chechnya.
This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on November 26, 2018 at 04:33 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.
Author: Anna Gritsevich Source: CK correspondent
