NC SOS reports being aware of at least seven cases in which men suspected of homosexuality were picked up off the streets and sentenced in sham trials. They were given the choice to either pay a bail of 1.5 million roubles or fight at the front in Ukraine. According to the organisation, authorities threatened to expose their alleged sexual orientation to fellow prisoners, which could lead to fatal abuse.

NC SOS says that one of these men has died at the front. Nothing is known about the other six. The organisation claims that the search for homosexuals is ongoing, with authorities forcing them to sign military contracts.

Chechnya is a region in southern Russia, located on the northern side of the Caucasus Mountains. Reports of the torture of sexual minorities frequently emerge from the autonomous republic. According to the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Russia refuses to cooperate with calls to investigate the atrocities. Chechnya is led by dictator Ramzan Kadyrov, whose armies support the Russian forces in Putin’s war against Ukraine.