“The Organization of Former Prisoners of Russian Filtration Camps from the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria (OUFKL-ChRI)” has published a press release about the urgent situation facing a Chechen asylum seeker in Belgium.

According to the press release, Bislan Makhaev, born in June 19, 1975, was arrested in Stavelot, Belgium on January 4, 2011 by the police. The Belgian police claim that there is an active Interpol arrest warrant for him. The Chechen asylum seeker is now at risk for extradition from Belgium to Russia. Bislan’s mother, who currently lives in Austria, is asking for help in saving her son from the bloody hands of the Russian state.

Bislan Makhaev is a former resistance fighter. He fought against Russian occupation forces in the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria in the beginning of second Russian-Chechen war. In 2003, he was kidnapped by the FSB and he was subjected to brutal torture and beatings in jail. His family could only save his life by paying a so-called “bail”. But, it was just the beginning for the Makhaev family; he was repeatedly kidnapped by FSB agents and tortured. All these abductions, threats and tortures against the Makhaev family continued until the whole family left the Russian occupied Chechen Republic of Ichkeria.

*Text was translated by Waynakh Online and edited by Michael Capobianco