via Instagram
A popular Chechen singer long believed to have been killed as part of a “gay purge” in the Russian republic was tortured and executed on Ramzan Kadyrov’s orders after the strongman leader became “personally insulted” by his sexuality, according to a new report.
Zelimkhan Bakaev, 25, had been living in Moscow and gaining popularity outside the North Caucasus region when he vanished in August 2017 after returning home to attend his sister’s wedding. Human rights groups sounded the alarm over his disappearance, warning that he had likely been targeted as part of an anti-gay purge underway in the predominantly Muslim region.
But Chechen officials claimed he had fled to Europe, while Kadyrov, sometimes called “Putin’s soldier” for his flamboyant defense of the president, suggested Bakaev had been killed off by family members who were “ashamed” of his sexuality.