Maxim Lapunov tells story of his kidnapping and torture in Chechnya

Maxim Lapunov, who emigrated from Russia, told the "Novaya Gazeta" newspaper about how he had ended up in Grozny and was tortured in a Chechen prison for his non-traditional sexual orientation.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that in October 2017, Maxim Lapunov, a native of the Omsk Region, said that he had been detained in Chechnya on suspicion of homosexuality and spent 12 days in the basement of the criminal investigation department, where he was beaten up. Later Lapunov was forced to leave Russia due to threats. He unsuccessfully sought an inquiry into his applications.

According to Maxim Lapunov, after his detention in Grozny, he was brought to the territory of one of law enforcement bodies, where they tortured to knock out the names of his gay friends, after which he was taken to a secret prison in the basement, where they continued beating him up.

He reported on those, according to his story, other prisoners, with whom he made friends, but later learned that they had been killed. Maxim added that he was released after rumours spread that they were searching for him.

Later, Maxim learned that his relatives were looking for him – they had appealed to the police, called and demanded to find him. After Maxim's return, his family was persecuted for a long time; therefore, they had to flee to another country, the article says.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on September 28, 2020 at 11:09 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.