13 December 2003, 16:30
Rally to protest arbitrary enforced actions against Chechen refugees took place in Brno
Members of the Nesehnuti public organization and the regional branch of Amnesty International organized a rally in front of the Russian Consulate in Czechia's second largest town of Brno on Thursday, December 11, to protest the arbitrary enforced actions taken against Chechen refugees in Ingushetia.
The rally began rather dramatically with the re-enactment of a symbolic scene showing Russian soldiers evicting a Chechen family from their temporary dwelling and forcibly dragging them back to Chechnya.
Then, by holding a moment of silence for all the Chechen war victims and lighting candles, the activists aligned themselves with the international event "In Memory of Chechen Victims" undertaken by dozens of human rights organizations on the 9th anniversary of the beginning of the first Chechen war.
The protest in Brno was also held to call attention to the outrageous decision to halt asylum proceedings for approximately 60 Chechen refugees in the Czech Republic, who are in danger of being extradited to the Russian Federation early next year.
Milan Stefanec of Nesehnuti criticized the Czech authorities' decision to expel the refugees: "These people escaped from a war-torn land, and now the Czech Republic is telling them via the police and Interior Ministry that they must go back home."
"Among the petitioners who seek asylum in the Czech Republic, Chechen refugees are in the forefront. Yet our authorities, unfortunately, have little sympathy toward the refugees? difficult situation," stated Lubor Kysucan, one of the coordinators of Amnesty International.
Source: Prague Watchdog
