Europe: Halt 'scandalous' returns of people from the North Caucasus to Russia where they are at risk of torture and abuse - new report

Croatia, France, Germany, Poland and Romania have or have attempted to extradite or deport asylum seekers who had fled persecution in the North Caucasus 

People returned potentially forced to fight in Russia's war of aggression in Ukraine 

‘European governments must immediately halt all transfers to Russia of people who are at risk of torture or other human rights violations’ - Nils Muiznieks 

Authorities in European states must immediately halt the transfer of refugees and asylum seekers from the North Caucasus back to Russia where they will be at risk of torture and other ill-treatment and potentially forced to fight in Russia's war of aggression in Ukraine, said Amnesty International in a new report published today (18 January). 

In the 28-page report - Europe: The point of no return - finds that authorities in Croatia, France, Germany, Poland and Romania, among others, have or have attempted to extradite or deport asylum seekers who had fled persecution in the North Caucasus to seek asylum in European states, thereby denying them the right to international protection.  

Due to their religious and ethnic identity – the majority of people from the region are Muslim and are Chechen, Dagestani, and Ingush, among other ethnicities - entire communities have been branded as ‘dangerous extremists’ that pose an existential threat to national security, allegedly justifying their return to a region where their rights are at real risk. Several European countries have used the unparalleled escalation of the conflict between Israel and Hamas since 7 October 2023 as a pretext to return asylum seekers to Russia. 

The human rights situation in the North Caucasus is dire, particularly in Chechnya. Anyone who expresses critical views, engages in human rights activism or is perceived to be a member of the LGBTI community risks being targeted, as well as their friends and family members. 

Nils Muiznieks, Amnesty International’s Europe Director, said: 

“It is scandalous that despite claims to have frozen all judicial cooperation with Russia following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, several European states are threatening to send people who fled persecution in Russia’s North Caucasus back to the very place where those abuses have occurred.

“European countries must recognise that many individuals of such background would face arrest or abduction, torture, other ill treatment or forced conscription on their return. 

“The situation facing those who have fled the North Caucasus has worsened dramatically due to the further degradation of human rights standards in Russia since its invasion of Ukraine. They face persecution through torture, arbitrary detention and enforced disappearance, with no accountability at home, and have historically been stigmatised and targeted for deportation or extradition in European states.

“European governments must immediately halt all transfers to Russia of people who are at risk of torture or other human rights violations and recognise that such risks are considerably higher for individuals from the North Caucasus. People in Europe must have their protection needs fairly assessed in light of the poor human rights situation in Russia and the ongoing war in Ukraine.”

Forced to fight in Russia's war of aggression in Ukraine 

Since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, an already bad human rights situation in Russia has significantly worsened. The risk of torture and other ill-treatment - widespread in places of detention prior to the invasion – has increased and there are credible reports that ethnic minorities in Russia are disproportionately mobilised into the armed forces. Those who refuse or attempt to flee mobilisation risk serious human rights violations. 

One Chechen asylum seeker told Amnesty:  

“People are taken off the streets, and you have two options, either go to jail for 10 years or go to fight. Jail in Chechnya…it’s like you no longer exist. But at least you might come out after 10 years. It’s probably better than to be mobilised, to fight, to die.” 

Russia’s withdrawal from the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and the crackdown on independent human rights monitoring in the country have dramatically increased the risk of human rights abuses and deprived victims of an important means of holding perpetrators to account. 

The ban on returning people where there is a real risk of torture and other ill-treatment is absolute and allows no exceptions, including on national security grounds.  

Expelled on spurious grounds 

The legal basis for transfers to Russia is often opaque or spurious, including the use of secret evidence provided by security services and groundless allegations emanating from Russia itself, particularly in the form of Interpol “red notices”. Russia has instrumentalised such notices to target political opponents, dissidents, human rights defenders, journalists and their relatives and associates.  

Some European states also accept inherently unreliable “diplomatic assurances” against torture from the Russian authorities to justify returns of people from the North Caucasus. Coming from Russia, where torture is endemic and the criminal justice system is regularly abused, such “assurances” are merely an attempt to circumvent a state’s absolute obligation not to send a person to any place where they would be at risk of egregious human rights violations. 

The risk of expulsion from France to Russia has increased substantially following the fatal stabbing of a schoolteacher in Arras by a man from the North Caucasus on 13 October 2023. In the days following the Arras attack, President Macron called for a “ruthless” approach to what he called “extremism”, with a “special approach to young men between the ages of 16 and 25 from the Caucasus”.  

The President also authorised his Interior Minister, Gérald Darmanin, to engage the Russian authorities on potential transfers. Plans have reportedly been put in place for the deportation up to 11 individuals to Russia. 

France is not the only European government prepared to send people to Russia in violation of the principle of non-refoulement – the absolute ban on sending people to any place where they would be at risk of such serious abuse. 

In Romania, national authorities detained Chechen asylum seeker Amina Gerikhanova in March 2022 on grounds that she posed an alleged threat to national security. She had fled her home in Ukraine in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion in February 2022.  

The Romanian border guards separated her from her young son and detained her pending extradition based on a Russian Interpol red notice. Her extradition to Russia was only stopped following a massive public outcry and the imposition of interim measures by the European Court of Human Rights. Romania eventually granted her asylum.