17 February 2024, 06:41
Native of Chechnya faces extradition from France to Russia
The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in Strasbourg has refused to overturn the decision of French authorities to extradite a 55-year-old native of Chechnya to Russia. He himself insists that he faces torture in his homeland.
The man will stay in custody until the extradition decision is executed.
Back in 2009, the above native of Chechnya came to France, and in 2012, he received refugee status, which was later revoked "due to his serious threat to the France's national security."
The applicant has been convicted in France at least three times: in 2015 – for justifying terrorism and threatening a public servant;, in 2016 – for storing weapons; and in 2020 – for violating the restrictive measures imposed in connection with his previous convictions.
The ECtHR has concluded that the "situation in Northern Caucasus" does not mean that a particular applicant faces an imminent risk of torture. The native of Chechnya himself claimed that in the early 2000s he was an "activist," and therefore received asylum at one time. However, he failed to provide the court with sufficient proofs that his return to Russia poses any risk for him, the "Kavkaz.Realii"* project has noted.
In 2022, it became known about the death of a native of Chechnya, Daud Muradov, who was deported from France in the spring of 2021. He was detained in Moscow and accused of assisting to terrorist activities. Muradov claimed that he was forced to incriminate himself under torture. He was transported to Grozny, where, according to human rights defenders, he was again tortured.
*Included by the Russian Ministry of Justice (MoJ) into the register of foreign agents.
This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on February 16, 2024 at 05:22 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.
Source: Caucasian Knot
