Dozhd talked about the flight of Chechnya’s “first” transgender person to the United States

The Dozhd TV channel found a woman who calls herself the "first" transgender from Chechnya. According to Dozhd, Leyla (as she asked to be called) fled from Russia to the United States in 2016, because her compatriots pursued her here.

Layla's real name is unknown. The channel claims to have confirmed her identity through human rights activists who helped her move abroad.

Leyla underwent a biological sex correction operation in the mid-2000s. Prior to that, she was educated in Chechnya and worked there in the administration of the head of the republic. According to her, she met with Akhmat Kadyrov. Then Leila left for Moscow, where she was persecuted.

According to her, her parents were given a condition: either they would kill her, or someone else would kill her. As a result, Leila was ordered by her uncle: in October 2015, an assassination attempt was made on her, the killer stabbed her in the chest, but she survived.

As a result, Leila had to change apartments and constantly hide from persecution. In 2016, she decided to leave for Argentina, but then changed her mind and settled on the United States. She got there through Mexico. According to Leyla, she does not have any documents, including the right to work.

The Chechen woman claims that at the beginning of 2016 she began to receive threatening SMS, and in her apartment in Moscow the door was kicked down twice. According to Leila, she applied to the Presnensky police department twice, but the police did not accept the application. “Either go to Europe, or we ourselves will send you to Chechnya, under escort,” was the response of the police, according to her.

Rain

• In early April, Novaya Gazeta reported on the mass persecution of gays in Chechnya, including murder. Journalist Elena Milashina said that 50 people were killed in the republic on suspicion of homosexuality. The Chechen authorities deny this information. The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Chechnya did not find any traces of persecution of gays.