Chechen blogger, Tumso Abdurakhmanov, receives refugee status in Sweden

On October 7, the Swedish authorities informed the Chechen blogger, Tumso Abdurakhmanov, that they had approved the awarding him with the status of a political refugee.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on January 11, 2021, a court in Sweden found Russian citizens, Ruslan Mamaev and Elmira Shapiaeva, to be participants in the attack on Abdurakhmanov, and sentenced them to ten and eight years in prison, respectively. The court ruled that the blogger's criticism of Chechen authorities was the motive for the attack, but the role of Chechen authorities was not studied in detail.

Abdurakhmanov himself has announced on his YouTube channel that Swedish authorities had granted asylum to him. "Today, very good news for me appeared – probably the most long-awaited one in these six years," Tumso Abdurakhmanov has stated.

"I can say that from October 7, a new stage in my life begins, now I am legal, I can travel freely," he has written.

Let us remind you that on February 26, 2020, Abdurakhmanov was attacked, but the blogger managed to disarm the man who had penetrated his apartment with a hammer. The Human Rights Centre "Memorial" believes that the coordinator of the assassination attempt was associated with the entourage of the head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov.

* the HRC "Memorial" is recognized in the Russian Federation as a foreign agent.