2024-01-18 01:31:33
European states must immediately stop transferring refugees and asylum seekers from the North Caucasus, particularly Chechnya, to Russia, Amnesty International argues in a summary published Thursday. According to the NGO, these people might be exposed to acts of torture and ill-treatment, but also to the obligation to participate in the war of aggression waged in Ukraine, because of their religious and ethnic identity.
The document published by Amnesty International reveals that authorities in some European states, such as France, Germany, Romania and Poland, are attempting to extradite or expel people who have fled persecution in the North Caucasus, thereby depriving the right to international protection.
“The situation has deteriorated significantly due to the deterioration of human rights standards in Russia since the invasion of Ukraine,” said Amnesty International’s Europe regional director, Nils Muiznieks. “These people are persecuted through torture, arbitrary detention, forced disappearance and have long been stigmatized and targeted by expulsion or extradition measures in European states. »
The transfer of these people, most of them Muslims, to Russia takes place in a context of discrimination and stigmatization, points out the NGO. According to her, the situation has worsened since the bombing of Gaza and the increasingly violent attacks in the West Bank, in response to the October 7, 2023 attacks carried out by Hamas in southern Israel.
“The risks faced by anyone returned to the North Caucasus have further intensified, and it is unacceptable to use heightened tensions in the Middle East to justify the return of asylum seekers,” added Mr. Muiznieks, who then urges European governments to put an end to these transfers.
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