Rally against expulsion of Chechens from Croatia held in Vienna

The activists who gathered in Vienna have called on the Croatian authorities not to allow the expulsion of arrested natives of Chechnya to Russia.

A rally against Chechens’ extradition was held in front of the Croatian Embassy in Vienna, Roza Dunaeva, a participant in the rally, has reported in her Facebook* page. Croatian authorities, including the migration and border ones, by threatening to extradite Chechen refugees to Russia, "are violating the international law, humanism principles and Croatia's obligations as a member of the European Union (EU)." Such behaviour is discrediting the European values and creates a dangerous precedent that threatens the safety of all the refugees who stay in the EU.

Such behaviour discredits the European values and creates a dangerous precedent that threatens the safety of all the refugees staying in the EU

"Chechen refugees left their homeland to escape repressions and threats. It is unacceptable that European countries make use of the same methods of pressure from which these people had fled. Such behaviour discredits the European values and creates a dangerous precedent that threatens the safety of all the refugees staying in the EU," Ms Dunaeva has stated.

"We urge Croatian authorities to comply with the international law and the Geneva Refugee Convention, and respect human rights. The work with Chechen refugees must be based on the law and not on threats and political manipulations," the report said.

As can be seen from the photos attached to the report, at least seven people gathered near the embassy. They were holding posters. "Stop the inhumane deportation of Chechens to Russia," reads one of the posters, handwritten in English.

Earlier, Ruslan Aisin**, an activist, reported that three Chechen refugees had been detained. According to his story, he was contacted by an asylum seeker who had lived in Croatia for over a year. He and two other young Chechens were detained on the basis of some classified information about a crime – it may be related to suspicions of terrorism. Their arrest was extended several times. "In general, everything they are accused of has no evidentiary basis, it's all very shaky," Ruslan Aisin** said in a video posted in his YouTube channel on April 22.

This was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on May 20, 2025 at 04:44 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.

*On March 21, 2022, the Tverskoi Court of Moscow banned the activities in Russia of the Meta Company, owning the Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, in connection with extremist activities.

**Included by the Russian Ministry of Justice (MoJ) into the register of foreign agents.