he was still living in chechnya when we met him. amid a new wave of detentions in january he said a member of his own family threatened to turn him in to security services. [ speaking in foreign language ] >> reporter: ricky only met other gay men two or three times a year. one of those times he says police secretly filmed him. [ speaking in foreign language ] >> reporter: victims repeatedly told us their persecutors were from the chechen police. they say they were held in prison cells at police stations all over the republic. this is just outside of grosny. it's where it's alleged that dozens of gay men and women have been imprisoned and tortured. this building here, in red, which is the police station building where we think gay young men and women have been detained. we've asked for access, but it's difficult to film freely here. we' we're having to be a little bit careful. do people recognize you in the street? do people know who you are? >> translator: of course they all know. >> reporter: the top-ranking general and head of al

ve reported around the world as a gay man, but in chechnya, i've kept it to myself, until now. what if i told you that i was gay. at first, the general seemed taken aback. >> reporter: and tonight, growing questions and concerns, how to protect the lgbt community and other activists targeted by the chechen government. as we said, david, amin made it out of the country, but victims and rights groups say abuses are still going on. and those who have fled are terrified that they could be tracked down. david? >> james longman tonight. james, thank you. and we will have much more of james' reporting from inside chechnya on a special edition of "nightline," that's later tonight. >>> meantime, to the other news and in washington today, members of congress put aside their differences to honor the late representative, elijah cummings. cummings' coffin was carried into sactatuary hall. his casket resting on the same th hel the remains of abraham lincoln. and one of the most emotional tributes to the congressman was from congressman mark meadows. >> for me, i was privileged enough to be a

in chechnya i've kept it to myself, until now. what if i told you that i was gay?reporter: at first the general seemed taken aback. >> reporter: growing questions and concerns. how to protect the lgbt community and other human rights activists allegedly targeted by the chechen government? >> incredible portin we had a longer piece on "nightline," seek that out and watch that. i spoke to james about this story a few weeks ago when he was here in new york. he said that general later said, oh, i can't be your friend, after he told him that he's a gay man. and so it was pretty powerful and brave of james there in that country to tell his truth and say that in front of this man, who we know about these allegations of civil rights violations, human rights violations there. and so the powerful reporting by him, and we appreciate him for that. >> really a reminder as journalists, nothing that we do can be done without our own truths in the process. >> you're right about that. >>> coming up on this feel-good friday. >> a pint-sized pep talk. a 10-year-old turning into an in

kilometer boundary agreed by russia and turkey and russian military police as well as soldiers from chechnya patrolling areas and the kurdish controlled. they are implementing the agreement under which the kurds will leave their positions inside the safe zone 30 is a nato member and its dealings with russia in syria have not been welcomed by many of its western allies for arriving in ankara germany's foreign minister called turkey's offensive against the kurds and invasion as if to discuss this issue we were told the proposal on creating an international safe zone is not a realistic suggestions that's why we use the time to deal with those issues which are important for the people in syria right now the issue of what happens with the ceasefire after 150 hours and the issue of how humanitarian aid continues with those who are fleeing in syria the invision comment outraged dixon's leaders they say european allies don't share the burden of refugees and refused to support turkey's operation against fighters who are designated a terrorist group by the european union. apart from bilateral issues w

spoken in among ourselves fighters turns out to be russians so a lot of them are from dagestan and chechnya and one of the aims that russia had in fighting together with syria on this war was of course to control i still and now after initially sort of indorsing the operation there by turkey by saying that the russia always understood the concerns that that turkey had with its border security now the tone is changing and russia is raising these doubts also in the last couple of days russia was encouraging a dialogue between turkey and syria and even offered to help with that and also a dialogue between syria and the kurds and the russia of course is a main player in syria and wants to have more influence over the country and over the future of syria and also over the middle east and that's an increasing chance since the united states has been withdrawing its troops so it was going pretty well for russia but so far nothing of the dialogue has been established so and also syria has already made it clear that they don't want to have a dialogue with the courts so it is a bit of an increase in c

kilometer boundary agreed by russia and turkey and russian military police as well as soldiers from chechnya are patrolling areas and the kurdish controlled. they're implementing the agreement under which the kurds will leave their positions inside the safe zone turkey is a nato member and its dealings with russia in syria have not been welcomed by many of its western allies for arriving in ankara germany's foreign minister called turkey's offensive against the kurds and invasion as. we were told the proposal on creating an international safe zone is not a realistic suggestion that's why we use the time to deal with those issues which are important for the people in syria right now the issue of what happens with the ceasefire after 150 hours and the issue of how humanitarian aid continues with those who are fleeing in syria the invision comment outreach to these leaders they say european allies don't share the burden of refugees and refused to support turkey's operation against fighters who are designated a terrorist group by the european union. apart from bilateral issues we found this a go

kilometer boundary agreed by russia and turkey and russian military police as well as soldiers from chechnya patrolling areas and that kurdish control and. they are implementing the agreement under which the kurds will leave their positions inside the safe zone turkey is a nato member and its dealings with russia in syria have not been welcomed by many of its western allies before arriving in ankara germany's foreign minister called turkey's offensive against the kurds and invasion as did. we were told the proposal on creating an international safe zone is not a realistic suggestions that's why we use the time to deal with those issues which are important for the people in syria right now the issue of what happens with the ceasefire after 150 hours and the issue of how humanitarian aid continues with those who are fleeing in syria the invasion comment outraged turkey's leaders they say european allies don't share the burden of refugees and refused to support turkey's operation against fighters who are designated a terrorist group by the european union. from bilateral issues we found this a g

kilometer boundary agreed by russia and turkey and russian military police as well as soldiers from chechnya or patrolling areas and the kurdish controlled. they are implementing the video all agreement under which the kurds will leave their positions inside the safe zone turkey is a nato member and its dealings with russia in syria have not been welcomed by many of its western allies before arriving in ankara germany's foreign minister called turkey's offensive against the kurds an invasion that's to discuss. we were told the proposal on creating an international safe zone is not a realistic suggestion that's why we use the time to deal with those issues which are important for the people in syria right now the issue of what happens with the ceasefire after 150 hours and the issue of how humanitarian aid continues with those who are fleeing in syria the invision comment outraged turkey's leaders they say european allies don't share the. burden of refugees and refused to support turkey's operation against fighters who are designated a terrorist group by the european union. i've heard from bi

kilometer boundary agreed by russia and turkey and russian military police as well as soldiers from chechnya or patrolling areas and that kurdish control and. they are implementing the agreement under which the kurds will leave their positions inside the safe zone 30 is a nato member and its dealings with russia in syria have not been welcomed by many of its western allies who for arriving in ankara germany's foreign minister called turkey's offensive against the kurds and invasion that's to discuss. we were told the proposal on creating an international safe zone is not a realistic suggestions that's why we use the time to deal with those issues which are important for the people in syria right now the issue of what happens with the ceasefire after 150 hours and the issue of how humanitarian aid continues with those who are fleeing in syria. the invision comment outreach to these leaders they say european allies don't share the burden of refugees and refused to support turkey's operation against fighters who are designated a terrorist group by the european union. apart from bilateral issues

kilometer boundary agreed by russia and turkey and russian military police as well as soldiers from chechnya or patrolling areas and that kurdish controlled. they are implementing the agreement under which the kurds will leave their positions inside the safe zone 30 is a nato member and its dealings with russia in syria have not been welcomed by many of its western allies for arriving in ankara germany's foreign minister called turkey's offensive against the kurds and invasion as did discuss. we were told the proposal on creating an international safe zone is not a realistic suggestion that's why we use the time to deal with those issues which are important for the people in syria right now the issue of what happens with the ceasefire after 150 hours and the issue of how humanitarian aid continues with those who are fleeing in syria the invasion comment outraged these leaders they say european allies don't share the burden of refugees and refused to support turkey's operation against fighters who are designated a terrorist group by the european union. apart from bilateral issues we found thi

if you notice in some of your varying form, i've been the most outspoken critic starting with chechnya and every single country who has passed laws that relate to whether or not you in fact it's a crime, you can be stoned to death, you can be punished, et cetera, et cetera, if you are gay, number one. number two, in my state department, not a joke, we will have a special office that's devoted directly to promoting lgbtq rights around the world, around the world. now two other things. interesting phenomenon. i know i heard a question about asked about the catholic schools and catholicism. guess the first nation in the world to change their constitution to allow gay marriage -- ireland. ireland, okay? number one. number two, look what's happened as well in india. i was in india promoting a proposal when i was vice president that i had to have universal women's -- the violence against women act made a condition upon which aid goes to other countries. deny aid if they don't provide it. and at the time, i'm not saying i'm the reason why india changed, but my vocal opposition and our vocal o

villages around this safe zone and also russian military patrols and additional forces deployed from chechnya to syria taking hold so again turkey denying that it has it is not sending anyone forcibly home to syria saying that it is going to only repatriate people once it's established this is all and it's established areas facilities where people can return to and saying that all of these allegations don't hold true because if turkey wanted to send these people home it would have never accepted them in the 1st place asama thank you for that. the latest live near the turkish syrian border thank you. well plenty more ahead of the new solid including new details emerge in the u.k. laurie death be it the means nationals may be among the 39 day. no longer a man spoiled how yemen civil war is pushing more women into doing jobs traditionally done by men and for the 3rd time in as many games the hunting struggles and baseball fans will see responsible explained in sports. attends day of anti-government protests is underway in lebanon and security forces have been called to dismantle several roadbloc

kilometer boundary agreed by russia and turkey and russian men if you police as well as soldiers from chechnyaare patrolling areas and the kurdish control and. they're implementing the video all agreement under which the kurds will leave their positions inside the safe zone turkey is a nato member and its dealings with russia in syria have not been welcomed by many of its western allies before arriving in ankara germany's foreign minister called turkey's offensive against the kurds and invasion that's to discuss. we were told the proposal on creating an international safe zone is not a realistic suggestion that's why we use the time to deal with those issues which are important for the people in syria right now the issue of what happens with the ceasefire after 150 hours and the issue of how humanitarian aid continues with those who are fleeing in syria the invision comment outraged leaders they say european allies don't share the burden of refugees and refused to support turkey's operation against fighters who are designated a terrorist group by the european union. from bilateral issues we fo

horror stories from gay men and well, now inside chechnya, confronting a man who police have accused

spoken in among ourselves fighters turns out to be russians so a lot of them are from dagestan and chechnyaand know one of the aims that russia had in fighting together with syria on this war was of course to control i still and now after initially sort of indorsing the operation there by turkey by saying that the russia always understood the concerns that that turkey had with its border security now the tone is changing and russia is raising these doubts also in the last couple of days russia was encouraging a dialogue between turkey and syria and even offered to help with that and also a dialogue between syria and the kurds and the russia of course is a main player in syria and wants to have more influence over the country and over the future of syria and also over the middle east and that's an increasing chance since the united states has been 'd withdrawing its troops so it was going pretty well for russia but so far nothing of the dialogue has been established and also syria has already made it clear that they don't want to have a dialogue with the courts so it is a bit of an increasin

course that these fighters would come back to russia or go where many of them are from back east and chechnya as. areas here in russia and some of them actually have been repatriated but they're all women and children and the men are still held in prison so of course this is a concern that putin has and it's interesting to see because in the beginning it seemed that russia was playing this more a wait and see attitude looking at what is actually doing but now maybe there is a bit of concern that this operation is going to be further than than russia was hoping it would be yeah it'll be interesting to see russia's position step because so far or at least when the turkish operation had started russia remained relatively silent on it. yes exactly and what we've been seeing in the last couple of days were all these these statements about the trying to create a dialogue a dialogue between turkey and syria and that's what. also has been saying and a dialogue between the kurds and syria as well and of course russia has been playing a huge role in syria so it would be in a good place to create this k

kilometer boundary agreed by russia and turkey and russian military police as well as soldiers from chechnya patrolling areas and the kurdish controlled. they're implementing the agreement under which the kurds will leave their positions inside the safe zone 30 is a nato member and its dealings with russia in syria have not been welcomed by many of its western allies for arriving in ankara germany's foreign minister called turkey's offensive against the kurds and invasion that's to discuss. we were told the proposal on creating an international safe zone is not a realistic suggestions that's why we use the time to deal with those issues which are important for the people in syria right now the issue of what happens with the ceasefire after 150 hours and the issue of how humanitarian aid continues with those who are fleeing in syria. the invision comment outreach to these leaders they say european allies don't share the burden of refugees and refused to support turkey's operation against fighters who are designated a terrorist group by the european union. apart from bilateral issues we found

spoken in among ourselves fighters turns out to be russians so a lot of them are from dagestan and chechnya and one of the aims that russia had in fighting together with syria on this war was of course to control eisel and now after initially sort of indorsing the operation there by turkey by saying that the russia always understood the concerns that turkey had with its border security now the tone is changing and russia is raising these doubts also in the last couple of days russia was encouraging a dialogue between turkey and syria and even offered to help with that and also a dialogue between syria and the kurds and the russia of course is a main player in syria and wants to have more influence over the country and over the future of syria and also over the middle east and that's an increasing chance since the united states has been withdrawing its troops so it was going pretty well for russia but so far nothing of the dialogue has been established so and also syria has already made it clear that they don't want to have a dialogue with the courts so it is a bit of an increase in concern

movements and ones concerned with their own local area while some middle eastern governments with chechnya in the 2000s, and at present, no middle east government support such movements. putin has managed to get them to be supporters of people like kadira who has very good relations with whether americans analyze in the regions and putin serves as a defender of middle eastern governments despite the difference wes each other and they have two common goals and one is that they're all against islamic radicals and u.s. disruptive policies that are supporting democratic revolution or intervention leading to chaos and moscow portrays the u.s. as actually being allied with islamic forces. i remember being in moscow for the 2018 conference and the little one with lavrov and not the big one with putin and with the iranian foreign minister is present and they said that iran is a partner in the war on terror in syria, and the united states supports the jihadists, basically, is really amazing. and so what you're seeing, though, is putin in many respects supports opposing sides simultaneously in the m

some middle eastern governments have supported anti-moscow rebels in afghanistan in the '80s and chechnyaand the 1990s and early 2000 at present no middle east government support such movements. in fact, putin has managed to get to them to be supporters of people like -- who has very good relations with american allies in the region. putin opposes us as a defender of middle eastern governments despite differences with each other, that they have two common goals. what is that they are all against islamic radicals, and against u.s. disruptive policies, supporting democratic revolution or intervention leading to chaos. and moscow portrays u.s. is actually being allied with islamist forces. i remember being in moscow for the 2018 conference, the little one, with lavrov, not the big one with putin and with the iranian foreign minister sergey lavrov basically said iran is a partner in the war on terror in syria whereas the united states supports the jihadists basically. it was really amazing. what we've seen though is putin in many respects support opposing side simultaneously in the middle eas