>> rock! yeah, make some noise, jimmy kimmel is in the building! . they put me in the wall of put bag on my head, and that guy, say that it's my last seconds. >> reporter: accusations of torture, kidnapping. lives destroyed. so they took you into a police station, and what did they do? horror stories from gay men and well, now inside chechnya, confronting a man who police have accused of unspeakable crimes. and my risky confession. what if i told you that i was gay? a special edition of "nightline," "am i next, gay and

targeted in chechnya." we'll be right back. gay and targeted in chechnya. we'll be right back.

how you watch it does too. tv just keeps getting better. this is xfinity x1. featuring the emmy award-winning voice remote. streaming services without changing passwords and input. live sports - with real-time stats and scores. access to the most 4k content. and your movies and shows to go. the best tv experience is the best tv value. xfinity x1. simple. easy. awesome. xfinity. the future of awesome. the big

>> reporter: does feel, rather that i'm going into the lion's den, slightly. ah, this is it. this is it here. yeah, this is it. i think this is the wow. >> his professional [ speaking in foreign language snm . >> reporter: this is the general, a picture of bravado and bluster, in a place where

brute force sets men apart he is chechnya's chief of police. don't let their easy smiles fool you. they're part of a group of men accused of horrific human rights abuses, including the round up and torture of more than 200 men and women, sparking headlines around the world, in what continues to be known as "the gay purge." >> reporter: this is the life amin always dreamed of. cooking, spending his days with the love of his life. you're the big cook. and you just watch. >> yeah, i do. >> reporter: but two years ago, this was his life. shorter hair, making women beautiful in his home city of grosny in chechnya. >> they always were leaving me with a smile, with beautiful hair, and i was making people happy. >> reporter: i'm often asked, when did you know you were gay.

for me, i was maybe 15, what about you? >> i was boy when i realized that i'm gay. >> reporter: but in conservative chechnya, that part of him was something he kept hidden, even from his family. >> family is the most important thing. >> reporter: what is started as a normal day in 2017 changed his life forever. you were in your hair salon. and one day the police come. >> with the guns, and they put me in the back door of car. >> reporter: they put you in the trunk? >> yeah. and we got there. they opened the door and they started from that second started beating me with fists. it was non-stop hitting. my body was blue, purple. and they were asking names of gay names like they tell me that they know that i'm gay. >> reporter: amin said he spent 14 days in a police prison cell,

beaten and electrocuted as his captors demanded he give the names of other gay men. >> and they put me in the wall. put bag on my head and that guyt charged with his gun and put me right here on my head. and i started painting the wall with my blood. and he said that it's my last seconds. >> reporter: when was going through your mind in that moment? >> something bad. i just moved back, like so moved back. running >> reporter: i'm sorry. i know -- >> it's okay. >> reporter: police released amin to his family, instructing

them to take away his shame. what did they mean by take away the shame? >> i don't know, maybe probably kill. >> reporter: his family spared him, but his life in chechnya was over. he fled to moscow. others told us similar sorries stories of kidnapping, abuse. despite an outrage a a a of chech nanyaens around the wo, it never stopped. so we journeyed to chechnya to try to find out what's happening and why. this place is known for their two bloody and brutal wars with russia. >> russian forces are now closing in on the capital. >> reporter: tens of thousands lost their lives. >> a young chechen boy cries out for help. >> reporter: it's been ten years since the end of the war, and

chechnya is now dominated by machismo personified. he was appointed by vladimir putin to change the region, and he did, turning it into his own personal fiefdom where he and his men are accused of torture and killings. i see what they said about gay people. [ speaking in foreign language ] >> reporter: for me, traveling here to tell their story has special significance. i'm a gay man, going to a place where gay people aren't allowed to exist. [ speaking in foreign language ] >> reporter: omar always has to wear a mask. 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 all police forces in chechnya, along with the accusations leveled against his forces, in 2014, he himself was sanctioned by the u.s. for the alleged kidnapping and torture of a chechnyaen politician. the u.s. has put sanctions on individuals here. why do you think they have done that? [ speaking in foreign language ] >> reporter: he says the allegations of a gay purge are

made up. they may have thoug the mere thought of a gay person in chechnya seems to him, to be an insult. [ speaking in foreign language ] >> reporter: so there are no gay people in chechnya? [ speaking in foreign language ] ♪ >> reporter: appearances are deceptive in chechnya's capital. a modern city at the heart of what many describe as a police state. [ speaking in foreign language ] people are saying police state. >> translator: i don't think he likes the phrase police state. >> reporter: this all really rather surreal. we're in the middle of grosny.

and as if to prove to us that it's a very safe city he's now taken us on a walking tour. and everyone here knows who he is. [ speaking in foreign language ] >> translator: it's important that everyone grows up as a man. >> reporter: okay. [ laughter ]. >> reporter: so what we've got here is the typical act of a joking strongman. but what he's accused of is not a joke. presumably, he wants us to get into this car. is that the idea?

is the police station staffed at night? [ speaking in foreign language ] >> translator: yeah, they'll be there. >> reporter: what do we know about this place? >> i don't know. >> keep rollin' james. >> reporter: we arrived to dozens of men. kalashnikovs at the ready. what happens inside the prison when we come back. what if i told you that i was gay? woman 1 oc: this is my body of proof. man 1 vo: proof of less joint pain and clearer skin. man 2 vo: proof that i can fight psoriatic arthritis... woman 2 vo: ...with humira. woman 3 vo: humira targets and blocks a specific source of inflammation that contributes to both joint and skin symptoms. it's proven to help relieve pain, stop further irreversible joint damage, and clear skin in many adults.

humira is the number one prescribed biologic for psoriatic arthritis. avo: humira can lower your ability to fight infections. serious and sometimes fatal infections, including tuberculosis, and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened, as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. tell your doctor if you've been to areas where certain fungal infections are common and if you've had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have flu-like symptoms or sores. don't start humira if you have an infection. man 3 vo: ask your rheumatologist about humira. woman 4 vo: go to humira.com to see proof in action. (girl) my mom washes the dishes before she puts them in the dishwasher. so what does the dishwasher do? (vo) cascade platinum does the work for you. prewashing and removing stuck-on foods, the first time. (mom) wow! that's clean! (vo) cascade platinum. only roomba i7+ uses two multi-surface rubber brushes. ♪ and picks up more pet hair than other robot vacuums. and the filter captures 99% of dog and cat allergens.

if it's not from irobot, it's not a roomba™. performance comes in lots of flavors. ♪ (dramatic orchestra) there's the amped-up, over-tuned, feeding-frenzy-of sheet-metal-kind. and then there's performance that just leaves you feeling better as a result. that's the kind lincoln's about. ♪

they give us excellent customer otservice, every time.e. our 18 year old was in an accident. usaa took care of her car rental, and getting her car towed. all i had to take care of was making sure that my daughter was ok. if i met another veteran, and they were with another insurance company, i would tell them, you need to join usaa because they have better rates, and better service. we're the gomez family... we're the rivera family... we're the kirby family,

and we are usaa members for life. get your auto insurance quote today.

>> reporter: we're in a car in chechnya, with the head of a police force, accused of rounding up and torturing hundreds of gay men. what do we know about this place? >> i don't know. >> reporter: so this is it? this is a police station just outside of g rosny, escorted by the police chief himself. >> keep it rollin', james. >> reporter: on the parade ground, a rehearsed demonstration of power. 5 58 kalashnikovs ready at a home's notice. so the police chief has come here. that's why automatically. >> he gave the order that they come out. [ speaking in foreign language ] >> reporter: have the activities

of these men and men like them have been scrutinized by the united states. >> translator: that includes every god damn day, a shooting. >> reporter: that's what would you say to human rights campaigners who say that these men and men like them are responsible for atrocities. [ speaking in foreign language ] >> translator: there are 10,500 police men here. can you show me a policeman anywhere in the world who hasn't committed a crime? you may not like us, but no one can disagree with us, that we are able to keep order in the republic. >> reporter: can we take a look inside? i've reported around the world as an openly gay man. but in chechnya, i've kept it to myself so far. i may tell him, guys.

so i have a question for you. what if i told you that i was gay? what if i told you that i was gay? [ speaking in foreign language ] so it doesn't upset you for me to tell you that i'm gay? [ speaking in foreign language ] >> reporter: i'm not going to be in trouble. you're not going to lock me in this cell, because i'll be very honest. i'm scared to tell you that i'm gay. do you understand why i'm scared? [ speaking in foreign language ] feel my heart. [ laughter ] i'm scared. this is not the reaction you'd expect. and on my face a nervous smile.

[ speaking in foreign language ] >> reporter: the stories we've heard from young chechen gay men, though, they feel scared to be gay in their own country. [ speaking in foreign language ] >> reporter: a surreal moment, but for the general an amusing one, full of smiles, but perhaps also an attempt to whitewash. i feel very strange at this point. i think i just came out to the head of chechnya's police force in a prison cell. but i think on some level it's important to prove a point that gay people might not be what they expect. but i think there's different

rules for different people. and because i'm foreign, somehow it it doesndoesn't matter, but e chechen, it would be a threat. what's important is i don't want to make this about me. this is about the people that we've spoken to, and the many dozens who allege crimes going on here [ speaking in foreign language ] >> reporter: you've been very welcoming. you've shown us around. do you think i am less of a man than you? [ laughter ] [ speaking in foreign language ] >> reporter: you wouldn't like me to be my friend.

>> reporter: fighting is a way of life for chechen men. it defines who they are. like assemble to celebrate their masculinity. and, in the middle of it all, theirmperor. behind me there's a whole row of raised seating where he sits. we have to be careful not to point our cameras at it too much. behind us is a whole group of boys in uniform waving flags with pictures of his father on them. i can't shake the feeling that it just feels like a cult. chechnya is a world of patriotic masculinity where displays of bravery somehow prove your worth. in this place, anything foreign must be defeated.

like homosexuality, a western illness, and a threat to the nation. these men have shown a deeper braver but their courage is not recognized. >> i had the dreams always, and i was believing even there i was dead. i deserve better life. and it's all happening now. somehow.

it's not "acceptabled or nothing."" and it's definitely not "close enough or nothing." mercedes-benz suvs were engineered with only one mission in mind. to be the best. in the category, in the industry... in the world. lease the gla 250 suv for just $329 a month at your local mercedes-benz dealer. mercedes-benz. the best or nothing. of millions of americans during the recession. so, my wife kat and i took action. we started a non-profit community bank with a simple theory - give people a fair deal and real economic power. invest in the community, in businesses owned by women and people of color, in affordable housing. the difference between words and actions matters. that's a lesson politicians in washington could use right now.

i'm tom steyer, and i approve this message. breathe freely fast, with vicks sinex. my congestion's gone. i can breathe again! ahhhh! i can breathe again! ughh! vicks sinex. breathe on. [boy gasps] for real cold and flu protection with lysol, you can help protect them from a real cold. lysol disinfectant spray kills the #1 cause of the cold and clorox wipes don't. lysol. what it takes to protect.

so that early retirement we planned. it's going ok? great. now i'm spending more time with the kids. i'm introducing them to crab. crab!? they love it. so, you mentioned that that money we set aside. yeah. the kids and i want to build our own crab shack. ♪ ♪

ahhh, you're finally building that outdoor kitchen. yup - with room for the whole gang. ♪ ♪ see how investing with a j.p. morgan advisor can help you. visit your local chase branch.

our thanks to james longman and his team on the ground there. that's "nightline." remember, you can always catch our full episodes

we all have things we love and long for. a place, a feeling, a moment. but only kerrygold can take you there. to ireland's lush, green pastures. where grass-fed cows produce rich, creamy milk for the most delicious taste imaginable. that's no ordinary cheese. no. it's kerrygold. kerrygold. the taste that takes you there.