Rizvan, a resident of Chechnya, first encountered police discrimination due to his sexual identity in the spring of 2017. This was when the systematic persecution of gay men began in the republic, and Rizvan found himself targeted after his association with Maxim Lapunov, the first person to publicly expose the torture of LGBTQ+ individuals in Chechnya.

In July 2022, Rizvan became a victim of a “fake date” scheme. Four men cornered him, forced him to confess on camera that he was gay, and then demanded 50,000 rubles ( about $500 USD) or an iPhone 13 in exchange for their silence. The video of his confession quickly circulated online, and soon after, Rizvan went missing. Human rights activists urgently appealed to law enforcement to locate him.

Six months later, it was revealed that from late July to mid-November 2022, Rizvan had been detained at a police station in Grozny, the capital of Chechnya. Rizvan and his blackmailers were arrested a week after the video outing him was published. According to Rizvan, the blackmailers were tortured, subjected to beatings and electrocution, and later charged with illegal possession of drugs.

Rizvan himself endured severe abuse. The first to use violence against him was the head of the police station, whom Rizvan identified as Deni Aidamirov, a relative of Chechnya’s leader, Ramzan Kadyrov. As of November 2023, Aidamirov has been appointed the First Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of the Chechen Republic.

With the help of NC SOS, Rizvan was able to escape Russia.