Persecuted Russian transsexual and gay friend flee to Syria to join ISIS
Dubbed by Moscow media as the "battle trannies," the two appear to be unaware that ISIS combatants regularly execute individuals accused of homosexuality.
By DANIEL J. ROTHUpdated: JUNE 26, 2015 14:17ISIS fighters dress as women in attempt to escape fighting(photo credit: SOCIAL MEDIA)
A transsexual man and his gay friend have reportedly fled to ISIS-controlled territory in Syria after the two complained of persecution and harassment at the hands of family and neighbors within their small Russian village, The Daily Mail reported Wednesday.Captivated by the militant organization's sophisticated propaganda campaign, the two suspects, Alexei T. and Viktor E, 22, are said to have made contact with members of the fundamentalist terror organization and were reportedly headed toward Syria.Dubbed by Moscow media as the "battle trannies," the two appear to be unaware that ISIS combatants regularly execute individuals accused of homosexuality, and Russian police fear that "it is unlikely that they will live very long once their sexual orientation is revealed."Swayed by the Islamic State's online campaign directed at discontented individuals "who feel out of place," the pair reportedly decided to flee to the Islamic State claiming "they had suffered persecution and abuse from family and locals in the home in the Kamchatka region in the extreme east of Russia," according to The Daily Mail.Moscow authorities say this is the most bizarre case in an otherwise increasingly worrisome trend of young Russians being coaxed into traveling to the Islamic State to join in the fight against the West.The two were placed on a watch list for terrorist or extremist activities shortly after being converted to radical Islam, according to Russian media.Although apparently recruited by ISIS's effective propaganda campaign, the two appear to be unaware of the horrific videos the terrorist organization posts online of gay men being thrown off roofs of tall buildings or being stoned to death in displays of disturbing public murders.In early February, Islamic State terrorists released footage purportedly showing them pushing a blindfolded gay man out of a high-rise building and then stoning him to death after surviving the fall.The alleged incident took place in the northern Syrian province of Raqqa.According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the man, who appeared to be in his 50s, was tied to a plastic chair and hurled off a building by two masked ISIS members.
