22:32, 5 March 2025

ECtHR treats threats against Elena Milashina after her posting about Chechen gays as her rights violation

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has found threats announced by Chechen leadership against journalist Elena Milashina, who wrote about persecution of gays in Chechnya, to be a violation of her privacy and the right to the freedom of expression.

In April 2017, the “Novaya Gazeta” reported on mass detentions and murders in Chechnya of men suspected of non-traditional sexual orientation, and about a "secret prison" for gays in Argun. Then, the head of Chechnya called these materials a provocation. However, the residents of Chechnya interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" stated that physical repressions against gays had been known about long before. After Elena’s publication, she faced threats.

The ECtHR’s decision states that in 2017, Milashina received dozens of messages on the Facebook* from anonymous authors with usernames that could be described as belonging to residents of the Caucasus region, in particular as Chechens. The messages contained threats, including death threats. She was forced to leave Russia for several months.

Besides, Elena was attacked by the head of Chechnya, and in July 2023, she was severely beaten up in Chechnya.

The ECtHR has noted that Milashina received threats from both Chechen leaders and religious figures, but "there is no indication in the case file that authorities tried to distance themselves from the statements made or condemn them."

*On March 21, 2022, the Tverskoi Court of Moscow banned the activities in Russia of the Meta Company, owning the Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, in connection with extremist activities.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on March 4, 2025 at 10:40 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.

Source: Caucasian Knot