Human rights defenders concerned over denial of asylum to Tumso Abdurakhmanov's family

In Germany, a court unreasonably decided that relatives of Tumso Abdurakhmanov would be safe when they returned to Russia, since the Chechen authorities would be able to use them to put pressure on their political opponent, the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial" declared on September 12.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Tumso Abdurakhmanov, who was put on the federal wanted list in Russia, tried to obtain asylum in Georgia and Poland. In September 2018, the Polish Refugee Council refused to grant him asylum, although agreed to give protection to his family members, Tumso Abdurakhmanov himself said. In December 2018, the Polish Border Guard Service announced that the blogger should leave the country.

On August 26, the High Administrative Court of Bavaria dismissed a request for political asylum in Germany filed by Mokhmad Abdurakhmanov, a brother of Tumso Abdurakhmanov, and requested him to leave the country within a month, the press service of the HRC "Memorial" reported on September 12.

"Maryam Gazieva and Raisa Khasarova, a spouse and a mother of Mokhmad, respectively, were also refused asylum. Maryam and Mokhmad take care of their minor child who was born in Germany. They were also required to leave the country within a month. The decision pronounced by the High Administrative Court of Bavaria cannot be challenged," reports the HRC "Memorial" in its statement posted on the website.

In Russia, relatives of Tumso Abdurakhmanov are in real danger, since the Chechen authorities will be able to "use Tumso's relatives as hostages to silence the blogger," the human rights defender stated.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on September 13, 2019 at 12:26 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.