The threat, with English captions, translates as follows: "Anyway, you have already dared to come. But I will say it to you that way, you bastard. Son of Devil, Antichrist, you are bastard with no name. Don't go outside this train. And if you do, this would be your final stop. Leave Chechen Republic and Chechen people [alone]. Disappear! Go back where you belong." It is likely that Bashanov isn't acting alone.
The threats are thought to be a response to Kochetkov because he recently filed a complaint "regarding the new wave of LGBT persecution in Chechnya to the Investigative Committee of Russia." He requested that authorities investigate information about illegal detention of "at least 14 people, tortures and a murder." We know that forcibly abducted
gay men have been imprisoned and tortured at concentration camps, so Kochetkov's motion isn't out of thin air. A name of one of those recently detained is, reportedly, Bekhan Yusupov. Other victims, out of fear for their lives and safety, do not provide their personal info.
As Lyosha Gorshkov, Co-President at
RUSA LGBT, the Russian-speaking American LGBTQ association, tells
PAPER:
"Igor [Kochetkov] isn't safe at all. We have to put pressure on international human rights divisions to issue public statements calling to investigate these threats and help protect him and others in Chechnya for whom it is still very dangerous." Gorshkov adds that these threats aren't just words: "The Russian government will not protect him."
A direct action held last week by nonviolent queer advocacy group
Voices4 aimed to put pressure on Russian government for the ongoing violence against queer people in Chechnya. The organization staged a peaceful protest at the Russian Consulate in New York, speaking about the reported 100+ Chechens murdered since December 2016, who are suspected to be part of Russia's "gay purge." The Russian LGBT Network confirmed last week that about 40 LGBTQIA+ people have been imprisoned and at least 2 people murdered since December 2018.