In early August of 2012, the mass media reported the arrest of a Chechen man on the border of Bulgaria and Turkey as a terrorism suspect. However, a Bulgarian district court has decided to release him.

According to the mass-media’s story, 47-year-old Chechen refugee, Mohmad Gadamouri entered Bulgaria with his wife and five children, telling border authorities that he was coming back from their vacation in Turkey. However, the Bulgarian border officers discovered that he was wanted for being part of a group that planned a terrorist attack in the Russian republic of Ingushetia in 2003 as well as the illegal trade of arms and toxic substances by Interpol. After his arrest he was kept in a detention center in the city of Ruse. During this period, there was a lot of news about him. All the media outlets and Bulgarian authorities forgot that he had refugee status given by Germany, and the so-called ‘arrest warrant’ could not be real.

On August 23, he stood in front of the Ruse District Court. He told the court that he was innocent and had fled from his homeland because of a fear for his life. He said that he never participated in the liberation war against the Russian invaders in the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, nor was he involved in any politics at all. However, like many other Chechen civilians, he had been harassed by Russian security services. His father and mother were killed, and his sister is still missing. The court examined his situation deeply and decided to justify his release by saying that since Mohmad Gadamouri is a refugee in Germany under the Geneva Convention, he cannot be returned to the Russian Federation; there is a real danger and if he is extradited, this can be abused.

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