{"id":103605,"date":"2019-10-25T14:26:36","date_gmt":"2019-10-25T18:26:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/nightlines-james-longman-came-out-to-the-head-of-the-chechnya-police-force-accused-of-torturing-and-murdering-gay-men-watch\/"},"modified":"2019-10-25T14:26:36","modified_gmt":"2019-10-25T18:26:36","slug":"nightlines-james-longman-came-out-to-the-head-of-the-chechnya-police-force-accused-of-torturing-and-murdering-gay-men-watch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/nightlines-james-longman-came-out-to-the-head-of-the-chechnya-police-force-accused-of-torturing-and-murdering-gay-men-watch\/","title":{"rendered":"Nightline\u2019s James Longman Came Out to the Head of the Chechnya Police Force Accused of Torturing and Murdering Gay Men \u2014 WATCH"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nightline\u2019s James Longman Came Out to the Head of the Chechnya Police Force Accused of Torturing and Murdering Gay Men \u2014 WATCH<\/b><\/p>\n

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Nightline\u2019s James Longman spent a year talking to several victims of the anti-LGBT campaigns before going to the southern Russian republic of Chechnya to meet the police authorities accused of the so-called \u201cgay<\/a> purge\u201d and go inside Chechen prisons.<\/p>\n

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Amin Dzhabrailov, a gay<\/a> Chechen man<\/a> who was captured and tortured and beaten for days, described his experience, telling Longman that his captors staged his execution<\/a>: \u201cThey tell me that they know that I\u2019m gay<\/a>, and [to] tell [them] about more gay<\/a> guys<\/a>\u2026 The sense was [they would] probably just torture them also. \u2026 I didn\u2019t give any name[s]. \u2026 They took off my shoes\u2026 and they put me on the wall, put [a] bag on my head\u2026. That guy<\/a> charged his gun, and put [it] right here on my head. And I started painting the wall with my blood. And he said that it\u2019s my last seconds.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Longman, who is gay<\/a>, the trip to Chechnya turned personal and very stressful when he made the decision to come out to General Apti Alaudinov, the head of the Chechen police force.<\/p>\n

Wrote Longman in an account of the trip: \u201cAnd so, at close to 11 p.m., we were bundled out of the restaurant and into his car. We were heading to a police station. Because Chechen officials totally deny the accounts of police brutality toward gay<\/a> people, we did not expect to see something incriminating or necessarily much at all. But as we swept into the parade ground and we were met by 50 or so armed commandos, all standing to attention. \u2026 I\u2019ve definitely had some awkward coming out moments in my life. But I don\u2019t think any can compare to telling a man<\/a> who is the head of a police force accused of torturing hundreds of LGBTQ people that I\u2019m gay<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe made our way to the prison block, and by this time, we had amassed a small following of armed guards and other officials: a bigger audience for the general\u2019s one-man<\/a> show,\u201d added Longman. \u201cAs we walked, I gradually got the sense that it might be ok to tell him I\u2019m gay<\/a>. I asked the others quietly. \u2018I think I\u2019m going to tell him guys<\/a>, are you OK with that?\u2019 They were. And so, as we stood in the cell, I said, \u2018Do you remember earlier when you asked if one of us was gay<\/a>? What if I told you I was gay<\/a>?’\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI could feel the guards shifting behind the camera<\/a>. John later told me he heard them all whispering to each other,\u201d continued Longman. \u201cAlaudinov was doing his best to make it seem like it didn\u2019t matter to him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Replied Alaudinov: \u201cThere is no problem. Nobody has any issues with you. You are a guest. Come here as a guest and leave from here as a guest. You don\u2019t understand something: You can say anything about us \u2014 any horror stories \u2014 but I, as [the] head of Chechen Police, I don\u2019t have a goal to see who you are and what your sexual orientation is. I am not interested to know it. It\u2019s your life and you should live<\/a> however you want. But at the same time, don\u2019t teach us how we have to live<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Watch the entire segment below, following a teaser segment from ABC News.<\/p>\n

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The full segments. Part One:<\/p>\n

Part Two:<\/p>\n

The post Nightline\u2019s James Longman Came Out to the Head of the Chechnya Police Force Accused of Torturing and Murdering Gay Men \u2014 WATCH<\/a> appeared first on Towleroad Gay News<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Nightline’s James Longman Came Out to the Head of the Chechnya Police Force Accused of Torturing and Murdering Gay Men \u2014 WATCH<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n