In Makhachkala, 15 teenagers were detained to interrogate them about the escape from Russia of four sisters from Dagestan who were subjected to domestic violence, the SOS crisis group, which helped the girls, said . The security forces are looking in the city for a certain "LGBTQ+ cell" that allegedly "recruited" the sisters and helped them escape.
According to the group, it happened on the evening of November 2.
“Civilian-wearing officers (presumably from Center “E”) detained a group of teenagers without explanation. The detention took place near a cafe where young people who are called “informals” in Dagestan gather,” the SOS IC, which helps LGBTQ+ representatives in the North Caucasus, said in a statement.
At the same time, human rights activists note that it is easy to fall into the category of “informals” in the republic: you just need to wear clothes that are different from the “generally accepted” one.
According to the group, the teenagers were held at the police station until 2 a.m., during which they were roughly interrogated using obscene language. Young people were asked not only about girls who had fled violence, but also about their personal attitude towards LGBTQ+ and about the work of human rights defenders.
At the end of October, at the Upper Lars checkpoint on the Russian-Georgian border, Russian border guards detained four girls from Dagestan – Khadizhat and Patimat Khizriev, Aminat Gazimagomedova and Patimat Magomedova. The first two girls are sisters, the second two are second cousins.
They ran away from home due to family violence and tried to get to Georgia. For 10 hours they were not allowed to cross the border. Their relatives arrived at the checkpoint, the girls begged not to extradite them and said that otherwise they would kill themselves. After this situation received wide publicity in the media, they were able to leave Russia.
As reported by the SOS crisis group, the sisters were subjected to female circumcision as children.