Refugees from Chechnya want to leave Azerbaijan

A statement promulgated by the press service of the Council of Chechen Refugees in Azerbaijan runs that the refugees who now live in Azerbaijan want to leave this country since they think that their life and freedom are under threat.

"Despite all international agreements, Azerbaijan has again deported a Chechen refugee Suleiman Ayubov (status 6024) to Russia without any investigation and trial," runs the statement.

Mr Ayubov, an invalid, father of two children, one of them also being an invalid, was living in Azerbaijan since 2000. In 2002, he was recognized to be a mandate refugee, registered by the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Azerbaijan. However, he was extradited to Russia under request of Russian law enforcement bodies.

"We are not against justice, but we are against unfair trials and disappearances. Under the present situation the Council of Chechen Refugees in Azerbaijan has decided to organize removal of refugees into a third country and seeks support of all good-will people, international organizations and governments of other countries," runs the document.

Further, the statement notes that in 1999-2008 the Azerbaijani authorities have illegally extradited 27 persons to Russia. Dozens of Chechen refugees were arrested and are now kept in Azerbaijani prisons. The exact number is not given.

In their turn, the authorities assert that help to the refugees is difficult because of their illegal presence in the country, while extradition of some of them to Russia was made under the Azerbaijan-Russia agreement on legal assistance, which was approved by the Council of Europe.