Original subtitles

Hello?

Um...

Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Hm.

Chechnya is controlled by Ramzan Kadyrov,

the Kremlin-backed strongman.

His Instagram feed regularly shows himself

and his fighters as he wants all Chechens to be...

fit, faithful,

and ferocious in battle.

Russian President Vladimir Putin

named Ramzan Kadyrov

President of Chechnya in 2007.

Chechnya continues to depend on aid from Moscow,

enough to satisfy every whim of its erratic leader.

Ramzan Kadyrov is left to run this remote region of Russia

by his own rules.

A group of LGBT activists

demanded a meeting with Moscow's prosecutor,

armed with two million signatures,

a petition calling on the Kremlin to investigate claims

of a violent crackdown on gays in Chechnya.

But before they could deliver their petitions,

they were arrested for protesting without permission.

Ah.

Donald Duck.

Mm-hmm.

Da?

Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

I wanted to ask you about the alleged roundup,

abduction, and-and torture of-of

gay men in the republic.

But, do you not get concerned when you read these accounts

of young men who say they've been tortured for days

and delivered to their families in sacks?

Does it concern you as a matter of law and order

in the republic when you hear these stories?

Uh...

Uh...

Uh...

Alright, so why are you applying for asylum?

How did your name become familiar to people in Chechnya?

Chechnya has its own traditions that

we probably cannot totally understand.

Uh, when we helped the girl,

it's a question of, like...

like we have taken away a part of their property...

Mm-hmm.

Hello?