Croatia denies asylum to five Chechens who fled mobilisation in Russia

A court in Croatia has denied political refugee status and international protection to five natives of Chechnya who claimed to have fled from being sent to the contact line in Ukraine.

Source: Isa Daduyev, representative of the Assembly of Chechens in Europe, in a comment to Kavkaz.Realities, as reported by European Pravda

Details: The natives of Chechnya, who are in transit in Croatia, stated that among the reasons for emigration, in particular, was their unwillingness to participate in the war against Ukraine.

Now they are staying at a migrant centre, from where they can either be released to travel to another country or deported to Russia.

The final decision of the Croatian authorities on their relocation is currently unknown.

"The interpreters who participated in the court said that the refusal was made without any evidence and was based on mere assumptions that the asylum seekers were Islamist extremists. This is a very biassed decision," Daduev said.

In early November, several dozen natives of Chechnya were detained in Croatia, complaining of being forced to sign waivers of their asylum applications.

The detainees left Russia via Türkiye and arrived in Croatia in transit, intending to travel to other European countries.

Then, after media reports, Croatian Ombudsman Tena Šimonović Einwalter announced that she would check the legality of the detention of the Chechen natives and plans for their expulsion. Croatian human rights activists also drew attention to the situation.

In December, the Assembly of Chechens in Europe stated that one of the Chechen refugees had been beaten by Croatian police at the airport. After that, the victim was sent to a migrant camp, where he was kept in solitary confinement for several days. Human rights activists posted photos with signs of beatings but did not name the refugee.

The Croatian authorities did not comment on the alleged beating of the Chechen migrant.

As a reminder, Russians who fled to the Netherlands for fear of being drafted into the Russian army will no longer have the right to stay in the country automatically.

In January, Finland suspended consideration of asylum applications from Russians who fled mobilisation.

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