Threats to Abdurakhmanov point to vulnerability of Chechen refugees in Europe

Authorities of European countries are fundamentally underestimating the danger to dissidents in Chechnya and continue expelling immigrants from Northern Caucasus to their homelands, the rights defenders interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" have stated. Tumso Abdurakhmanov received new threats after blood feud was declared to him by Magomed Daudov.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on March 9, after a discussion with Abdurakhmanov, the Speaker of the Chechen parliament, Magomed Daudov, announced blood feud to the blogger because of the latter's words about Akhmat Kadyrov. The top-ranking official promised not to kill, but to "surprise" the blogger. On March 21, the blogger Tumso Abdurakhmanov reported new threats received by him from his fellow countryman, a refugee in Europe.

Tumso Abdurakhmanov has been receiving messages with threats from anonymous network users over the past years, but after Magomed Daudov's statement of blood feud, threats became much more substantive, the blogger told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

If the anti-immigrant policies gain momentum in Europe, there will be even more cases of extradition of refugees from Chechnya, says Oleg Orlov, the chairman of the board of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial".

"People are still sent out against the information that the asylum refusal and deportation or extradition can be deadly for them," Mr Orlov has noted, treating the decision of Polish authorities to extradite Tumso Abdurakhmanov as an example of such irresponsible policy. "Deporting Tumso to Russia is to send him to his death, but the Polish Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) has made such a decision. This is an example of an irresponsible policy and an anti-human decision," Mr Orlov has concluded.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on March 26, 2019 at 03:48 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.