“12 days that changed lives.” A film about Maxim Lapunov, the first person to talk about gay torture in Chechnya — Novaya Gazeta Evropa

Novaya Gazeta Europe publishes the film “12 Days That Changed Lives” by Irina Novik and Vasily Littebrandt. Maxim Lapunov is the first person to officially report the persecution and torture of gay people in Chechnya. In 2017, Lapunov, a native of the Omsk region who lived and worked in Grozny, was kidnapped and placed in an unofficial gay prison. He spent 12 days there until he was released after his relatives contacted the police. However, aft…