Chechen refugee released from deportation camp in Croatia

A court in Croatia has found a refugee from Chechnya not guilty of involvement in extremism and decided to release him from a deportation camp, an activist of the "Assembly of European Chechens" has informed.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that in April this year a court in Croatia refused to grant international protection and the status of political refugees to five natives of Chechnya, motivating the refusal by stating that they could be "Islamic extremists." On April 24, human rights defenders reported that six natives of Chechnya were on hunger strike in a deportation centre in protest against the denial of refugee status. On May 9, the hunger strike was suspended due to the lack of reaction from the authorities and the deteriorating health of the hunger-strikers.

A court in Croatia has released a refugee from Chechnya, who had been kept in the deportation camp with other Chechens since November 2022 due to suspicions of involvement in extremist activities, said Isa Daduev, an activist of the "Assembly of European Chechens".

"This time the judge has treated the case with understanding and sorted out the essence. The refugee has noted that there were no proofs of his links with extremist structures; moreover, he was a Red Cross volunteer," the "Kavkaz.Realii"* project has quoted Mr Daduev as saying.

He added that the refugee planned to move to his relatives in Germany.