“Le comité Tchétchénie” (the Committee Chechen) has reported that a male Chechen asylum seeker is at risk of being extradited to the Russian Federation.

According to the press release, Mr. T was born in 1974 in Chechnya. He cannot return to his homeland or Russia where he has been persecuted in the past and his life would certainly be threatened. When the Russian army invaded the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria in 1994, he joined the Chechen national liberation front with a group of local fighters to defend his homeland against the military occupation. During the interwar period, between 1996 and 1999, he worked as a construction worker in his home village. In 1999, he supported the national liberation front, but he didn’t participate in the fighting. Between 2002 and 2007, he studied at the Faculty of Pedagogy at Grozny State University. However, neither Russian invaders nor the pro-Russian forces let him live in peace as he was often abducted and beaten. He was released only after bribes were paid. Thus, he was forced to leave his homeland. He arrived in France in 2008. He was arrested and after a while released. He filed his asylum application in December of 2009. During the summer of 2010, he was interviewed for 3.5 hours. Six months later his asylum application was rejected. He asked for regularization, but he could not find a pro-bono lawyer and lost in court in July 2011. On August 8, 2012, he was arrested and since then he has been in a detention center. His deportation is confirmed for September 18 at 16.30. The desperate Chechen asylum seeker began a hunger strike and calls for help.

The Committee Chechen in Paris reminds its readers that his forced return to Russia brings a risk to his life and freedom. He can be subjected to torture and other inhumane or degrading treatment. During his election campaign, Mr. François Hollande clearly said that he will stop inhumane deportations in favor of human rights, but now what is happening is contrary to the commitments made by France and ratified by the European Convention of Human Rights and the UN Convention Against Torture.

For further information, you may contact the Committee Chechen in Paris:

Association Comité Tchétchénie
21, ter rue Voltaire
75011 Paris

Telephone number: 06.14.02.74.52

Pascale CHAUDOT
Présidente
E-mail: pascale.chaudot@orange.fr

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