The Daily Austrian newspaper “Kleine Zeitung” has reported that a Chechen family faces extradition from Austria.

According to the information, Shamkhan Mezhidov was persecuted and severely tortured by armed bandits from the pro-Moscow regime in Russian occupied Chechen lands. For this reason, he decided to leave his homeland. Shamkhan and his family arrived in Austria in 2007 and asked for asylum in Kärnten. However, Austrian authorities didn’t see any valid threats to the family and rejected their asylum demand twice. Now, Shamkan, his wife Liliya, and their three daughters: 5 year old Aysha, 6 year old Kadizha, and 8 year old Amina, are under threat of deportation any moment.

“The application for their residence permit based on illness was rejected by the district administration. The family’s mental situation is not really good, especially the father is severely traumatized,” said Maria Lind, a therapist from the counseling center for victims of violence: ASPIS.

The family still have hope for a humanitarian solution, however, when the Russian Embassy issues their return certificate, the foreign police will take action and send them back to Russia.

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