At the end of September, Chechen woman Selima Khadisova was detained at the airport in Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina) along with three minor children. She may be extradited to Russia, where she is in danger. This was reported by blogger Hasan Khalitov.
According to him, Selima had been living in Turkey for several years and, according to available information, had no grounds for arrest.
“There are alarming reports that Selima may be extradited to Russia. We are extremely concerned about this situation and are appealing to everyone who can help her,” the blogger noted.
In January of this year, the human rights organization Amnesty International called on EU countries not to extradite refugees from the North Caucasus to Russia. The text of the published document states that the authorities of European countries should immediately stop deporting refugees and asylum seekers from the North Caucasus Federal District to the Russian Federation, since they face torture and forced incorporation into the Russian army to fight in the war against Ukraine in their homeland.
Human rights activists emphasized that in recent years, the situation of people who left the North Caucasus has significantly worsened due to the decline in legal standards in Russia. In particular, they face unjustified detentions and forced disappearances. When they arrive in European countries, they are perceived as potentially dangerous due to their religious and ethnic affiliation and are therefore candidates for extradition.
Thus, the authorities of Croatia, France, Germany, Poland and Romania have already extradited or deported people from the North Caucasus Federal District who requested asylum.
A rally in defense of the rights of refugees serving sentences in the country was recently held in front of a deportation prison in Austria. The protest was prompted by the death of a young Chechen in an Austrian prison in January 2024.
In addition, refugees from Chechnya reported cruel treatment by the staff of a camp in Croatia, where they were often unjustifiably placed on suspicion of extremism. In protest, they went on a hunger strike, but since there was no reaction from the Croatian supervisory authorities, they stopped the action due to health problems.
It is noteworthy that the Swiss authorities recently refused to deport 40-year-old Chechen Ali Batayev from the country. Since September 2022, he has been in a deportation prison in Zurich and attracted public attention with a multi-day hunger strike. He has now been released.
