Tightening legislation in Europe has created the risk of deportation for hundreds of Chechens.

The decision to deport Muslim Alkhazov to Russia has been appealed, but he remains at risk, like hundreds of other refugees from Chechnya, due to tightening immigration laws in Europe, human rights activists said. Unfair denials of asylum to Chechens in Europe have increased due to the fact that decisions on the refugees' fate are made by security services, without regard for the risks of returning to Chechnya, diaspora representatives emphasized.

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," in July, Chechen diaspora activists held pickets outside German embassies in the capitals of Austria, the Czech Republic, and Finland in support of Chechen refugee Muslim Alkhazov, who faces deportation from Germany to Russia.

Alkhazov's defense appealed the deportation decision

Human rights activistRoza Dunaeva told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that the decision to deport Muslim Alkhazov has been appealed.

"There is no deportation yet. We have appealed and are awaiting the decision," she said.

According to her, Alkhazov's family miraculously survived torture and brutal persecution.

"Both the husband and wife were tortured, and their relatives were killed in 2022. Today, we are deeply concerned about the fate of Muslim Alkhazov, especially given the lack of trust in the decisions Germany makes even in such obvious cases," she said.

Europe is tightening immigration laws

The deportation of Chechen native Muslim Alkhazov from Germany could become part of a broader trend of expelling Chechen refugees from European countries, Svetlana Gannushkina, chair of the Civic Assistance Committee*, told a Caucasian Knot correspondent.

"I know of dozens of such cases. Over the past few years, I have written about 1,500 expert opinions, studying the situation in each specific case with the support of colleagues. For some applicants, multiple certificates had to be prepared to prevent deportation. These assessments often, but unfortunately, don't always help protect people," Gannushkina said.

Deportation decisions are made by migration authorities, which, based on official information from their ministries of internal affairs, often conclude that there is supposedly no longer a danger for Chechens in Russia.

The human rights activist cited the formalistic approach of European migration services to risk assessment as the main reason for deportation decisions.

"Deportation decisions are made by migration authorities, which, based on official information from their ministries of internal affairs, often conclude that there is supposedly no longer a danger for Chechens in Russia." "Or they acknowledge the general risk but claim there is no personal threat to a specific applicant," she explained.

Svetlana Gannushkina* also expressed serious concern about the adoption of the new EU Pact on Migration and Asylum.

"I see a major danger in the recently adopted EU Pact on the return of asylum seekers. This document must be implemented into the national legislation of the participating countries now." In this regard, we should expect a new large wave of deportations,” she emphasized.

Responding to a question about the risks for Chechens being returned to Russia, the human rights activist noted that the threat to their safety not only remains, but is increasing.

"Of course, the danger remains." "Today, the situation is further aggravated by the fact that Ramzan Kadyrov is actively recruiting troops for military action in Ukraine [at the expense of residents of the republic]," Gannushkina* concluded.

Europe believes there are no risks for refugees in Chechnya

Mayrbek Taramov, a representative of the Chechen diaspora in Europe and a member of the Council of Elders of Chechens in European Countries, is confident that Europe, by deporting and extraditing Chechens to Russia, is undermining itself, since in the event of danger, including from Russia, Chechens living in European countries will rise to their defense.

"This is a centuries-old tradition, genetically ingrained in Chechens by their distant ancestors, and it is precisely these people who will go to their deaths to avoid disgrace." "Personally, even though I'm an old man, I'm ready, in case of danger, to stand up for my second homeland—beautiful Sweden, which welcomed me and my relatives during a difficult period in my life," he told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

In his opinion, pressure must be exerted through the mass media and the European public.

“As a journalist and human rights activist with 30 years of experience, I warn the migration authorities of European countries that violate international conventions that mass rallies and marches against deportation arbitrariness will be organized in their capitals, and materials exposing migration officials will be published in the mass media of these countries,” he noted.

Blogger Tumso Abdurakhmanov* also notes that unfair denials of asylum to Chechens in Europe have increased.

“As for the deportations of Chechens to Russia, unfortunately, we very often encounter unfair denials of asylum in EU countries, and with the coming to power of right-wing radical parties in many European countries, this trend is only intensifying,” he told a “Caucasian Knot” correspondent.

According to him, deportation decisions are not made by the migration authorities.

"Increasingly, decisions on granting asylum to a genuinely persecuted Chechen are made not by the migration authorities of EU countries in accordance with the criteria of the Refugee Convention, but by the secret services of these countries according to completely different criteria that in no way take into account the threat to a person's life in the event of his return to Russia," he noted.

They rely on outdated reports from their Ministry of Internal Affairs and claim that everything has returned to normal in Chechnya, or assert that a native of the republic is not in personal danger.

A representative of the Chechen diaspora in Europe, Roza Magomedova, notes that there are dozens of confirmed cases of deportation of Chechens in recent times.

"But the real number of those deported and at risk of deportation "It could be hundreds. We in the diaspora constantly document such stories and try to help people gather evidence before it's too late. The main reason is bureaucratic red tape and the formalism of European migration services. They rely on outdated reports from their Interior Ministry and claim that everything has returned to normal in Chechnya, or they assert that a native of the republic is not in personal danger," she told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

She is certain that all deportees are at risk of harm.

"The threat isn't just real; it's deadly. In Chechnya, a person can expect basements, torture, and fabricated criminal cases. "And today, the risks have increased exponentially," she noted.

Caucasian Knot also reported that on June 24, it became known that a Chechen native was deported from Lithuania after the country's authorities refused to extend his refugee status, despite the fact that he had legally lived there for more than 20 years.

Caucasian Knot posts materials about human rights violations in Chechnya, Kadyrov's attacks on the opposition, and his fight against dissent in the republic on a special thematic page "Dissent in Chechnya".