A 20-year-old gay man was arrested in Saint Petersburg, Russia, thanks to the collaboration of his father, who asked people to kill his own son “for the honor of the family”. Zelimkham Akhmadov is one of the men who was arrested last year by authorities in Chechnya, a region belonging to the Russian Federation, because of his sexual orientation. In a kind of concentration camp to detain homosexuals or suspected homosexuals in Chechen territory, the young man was tortured and pressured to denounce other equally gay friends. After managing to escape, Zelimkham went to seek help in Saint Petersburg, where he was sheltered by another friend. Since then, his parents have placed him on the country's wanted fugitive list. In April this year, some of his family members tried to hand him over to the authorities, but he managed to escape. The young man tried to ask for help from the Russian LGBT Network, a non-governmental organization that helps LGBT people in the European country. He then arranged a meeting point, but upon arriving at the place where he had been promised maximum security, he was surprised by the presence of his father, accompanied by police officers, who forced him into a car. Since then, there has been no news of Akhmadov's whereabouts. The Russian LGBT Network called on the Saint Petersburg police to open an investigation to try to find him. After the repercussion of Zelimkhan Akhmadov's case in the country's press, representatives of Freedom House, an independent organization that works in favor of democracy and human rights, stated that “the persecution of the LGBT community in Chechnya is unfortunately far from over”. “Like many others, Zelimkhan was arrested by local authorities, tortured and assaulted because of his sexual orientation.” “Due to the Russian authorities collaborating with homophobia, we urgently request help from PACE (Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe), asking for international interference and the press to investigate the atrocities committed by the Chechen authorities”, requested the entity .
