At the end of 2022, Eva (name changed for safety reasons), a Chechen woman, faced severe backlash after her 14-year-old daughter, Alina, had an argument with a schoolmate. When the school administration checked both girls’ phones, they discovered anime art on Alina’s device depicting two boys hugging. This led to Eva being summoned to the school, where a mullah (an Islamic scholar or cleric) admonished her for both the artwork and Alina’s appearance, which included short hair and piercings.

In early 2023, the situation escalated. Alina was targeted with bullying, as someone shared a photo of her on local Telegram channels, falsely alleging that she was an atheist and opposed to the authorities, while claiming that her appearance “disgraced the republic.”

This culminated in Eva and Alina being taken to the juvenile affairs department at a police station. When Alina entered the office, a police officer callously referred to her as a “new wife.” Both mother and daughter had their phones inspected, and Eva was threatened with charges of failing to fulfill her parental duties. The police fixated on Alina’s appearance and probed into the family’s financial situation, including questions about their apartment ownership, showing no interest in addressing the bullying they had endured.

Eva was eventually released with a warning that the family was “being watched.” That evening, an unknown caller demanded 300,000 rubles (about $3,000) for his silence, threatening to expose Eva’s relationships with women. The following day, she received a call from a district police officer indicating that the police were still monitoring her.

In light of these threats and the persistent harassment, Eva and her children fled Chechnya and Russia with the assistance of NC SOS. However, even after their departure, the police continued to pursue Eva; officers visited a friend of hers, and an unknown number called another friend, indicating that the threats were far from over.