Reports: Russian Pop Star May Have Been Killed in Chechnya's Crackdown on Gays

A Russian pop star may have been among the men tortured and murdered by authorities in Chechnya as part of the nation's crackdown on gay men, according to reports.

A source told New Now Next that singer Zelimkhan Bakaev was arrested by Chechnya's authorities and was murdered shortly after being detained.

The singer was last seen on Aug. 8 in Chechnya's capital Grozny. He was visiting from Moscow to attend his sister's wedding.

"He arrived in Grozny and was picked up by police within three hours," the source told New Now Next of Bakaev. "Within ten hours he was murdered."

His family said they haven't heard from Bakaev, 26, since August. During a press conference last week, Russian LGBT Network founder Igor Kochetkov discussed the singer's disappearance.

"We received confirmation of our earlier presumption that Bakayev was detained by Chechen authorities due to suspicion of homosexuality," he said.

Officials in Chechnya denied any involvement with Bakayev's disappearance, suggesting he's left the country.

Last month, a video was posted to YouTube of a man resembling Bakayev. The clip, which shows the man saying he's living in Germany, was picked up by the government-controlled media in Chechnya.

"There is absolutely nothing to do in Grozny or Moscow. Because there are a lot of assholes," the man says. "Here people are absolutely different - you go out, everyone smiles at you. Absolutely different outlook."

Nevertheless, activists say the video is a fraud, pointing out a Russian energy drink and furniture that are not available in Germany appear in the clip, according to a report by Radio Free Europe Liberty.

Crime Russia reported in September that Bakayev messaged his mother and aunt on WhatsApp at the time, allegedly saying he was alive and well and living abroad before turning off his phone.