Gay man arrested in Dagestan says police offered him money to trap other men — Novaya Gazeta Europe

A gay man who was briefly arrested in June in Russia’s North Caucasus republic of Dagestan has described how he was offered money to help police entrap other gay men in the region, said SOS Crisis Group, a local LGBTQ+ non-profit, on Monday.

The man, who asked to be identified under the pseudonym Yusuf when he contacted SOS Crisis Group, was arrested and taken to a police station on the night of June 5 after his contact details were found on the phone of another man detained at the home of Matvey Volodin, who produces adult content under the name URSSBoy. Yusuf said he had never heard of URSSBoy and had never followed him on social media.

According to Yusuf, at the police station he was offered money to “work” with the police, contacting other gay men on social media and inviting them to his home, where they would be detained. He said his release was conditional on his accepting the deal on camera.

“Let’s be friends,” Yusuf said the officers told him, calling the proposed “partnership” a “win-win,” telling him: “You will work with us and we will pay you money.”

Upon his release, Yusuf contacted the SOS Crisis group, which helped him leave Russia.

Yusuf’s account of his dealings with the republic’s police follows a series of arrests of gay men in Dagestan after they were persuaded to go to Volodin’s home after meeting him on a dating app.

Volodin traveled to Dagestan in late May at the invitation of men who had contacted him online. These men turned out to be police officers who, after beating him and confiscating his phone, forced him to help them trap gay men online. Using Volodin’s account to invite people to the apartment, the officers filmed his sexual relations with more than five men, according to North Caucasus SOS.

An anonymous gay man was charged with distributing pornography Thursday after meeting Volodin at his home. Volodin now faces new charges of producing and distributing pornographic material himself.

In May, Russia’s Supreme Court labeled the “international LGBT movement” an “extremist organization,” leading to a series of arrests across the country. The North Caucasus republics have a long history of homophobic violence and persecution of homosexuals.