Advocates of Chechen gays, Magamadov and Isaev try challenging the judge

The court in Chechnya has unreasonably refused to transfer the case of the brothers, Salekh Magamadov and Ismail Isaev, for consideration in another region, their defence has claimed. The advocated have called on the Russian General Prosecutor's Office (GPO) to get involved in the trial, the "SK SOS" Crisis Group* has informed.

The brothers' advocates have petitioned for the transfer of the case to a court in another region, because they have no hope for an objective trial in Chechnya. Also, Chechen investigators refused to open a case on young men's complaints about torture, treating it as a ploy to evade responsibility.

In February, 2021, law enforcers took the 20-year-old Salekh Magamadov and his brother Ismail Isaev from Nizhny Novgorod to Chechnya. In March, the brothers complained of torture that followed the detention and reported that they had been forced to sign the fabricated testimonies that they had allegedly helped some militant. In September, the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial" recognized Isaev and Magamadov as political prisoners.

In their petition to transfer the case to another region, the advocates have recalled that threats of "honour killings" addressed to Magamadov and Isaev were voiced out on air of the "Grozny" TV Channel. Besides, the republic's authorities openly spoke about the brothers' guilt, which can be treated as pressure on the court. The defence has also noted the circumstances of the brothers' detentions by Chechen law enforcers in 2020 and 2021, treating them as kidnappings. It is also noted that advocates were repeatedly denied access to the young men arrested in Chechnya.