Valery Khatazhukov, head of the Kabardino-Balkarian Human Rights Center, filed a complaint with the Prosecutor General's Office after a two-hour interrogation at the Mineralnye Vody airport. He claims border guards questioned him about his human rights work, his travels, and his contacts with Turkish citizens, without explaining the basis for their questioning.
Khatazhukov was returning from Turkey, where he had undergone surgery to remove a malignant tumor. In his complaint, he wrote that he presented the border guards with medical documents confirming the purpose of his trip. However, the questions continued after that.
According to the human rights activist, the officers inquired about details of his work, Turkish citizens who might have visited him in the hospital, and his personal contacts in Russia. However, Khatazhukov claims the border guards did not identify themselves or show him their identification. According to the complaint, they explained their actions by citing an ongoing "special military operation" in Russia.
Khatazhukov believes there were no grounds for such questioning and is asking the Prosecutor General's Office to investigate the actions of the border service officers. The agency and the border service itself have not yet publicly commented on the complaint.
This is not the first incident involving human rights activists being checked at Mineralnye Vody Airport. In November 2022, Olga Begretova, a former employee of the Memorial Human Rights Center and a member of the Kabardino-Balkarian organization "Zhegu" ("Heart"), was stopped at passport control there. According to her, she was questioned by two individuals, presumably FSB officers, who also did not identify themselves.
Begretova was questioned about her professional activities, her relatives and their activities, and the reasons for her trip abroad. The questions even touched on her literary preferences, specifically her relationship with the writer Boris Akunin. Furthermore, during the check, Begretova's fingerprints and biological samples were forcibly taken, her photograph was taken, and her phone was confiscated.
She later demanded that the FSB disclose what information was collected about her during the check. The agency refused to provide the information. Begretova filed a lawsuit in Nalchik, but it dismissed her claim.
Now, Khatazhukov is complaining about the actions of staff at the same airport. In his complaint, he specifically addresses questions about his human rights activities and contacts with Turkey—despite the fact that, according to him, the trip was related to medical treatment.
