Chechens seek asylum in Europe because of corruption and pressure by power agents, says report of HRC "Memorial"

The Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial" has published a report "Chechens in Russia", prepared jointly with the Committee "Civil Assistance" after three years of work. The document uses specific examples to consider the situation with criminal prosecution of residents of Chechnya, status of women in the republic, corruption and insecurity of property.

"The report is aimed at migration services of the Western countries, where our Chechens ask for asylum. We are constantly asked: why are Chechens asking for asylum? Do they have grounds? These reports, in fact, are intended to explain how Chechens live in Russia, and what problems they face in Russia in general and in Chechnya as such," Svetlana Gannushkina, the editor of the report, the Chair of the "Civil Assistance" Committee and a member of the Board of the HRC "Memorial", told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

The report explains that Chechens are forced to leave their homeland for fear for themselves and their families, because of corruption and arbitrariness, idleness of the law enforcement and judicial systems, and the "return to traditions, freely interpreted by the rightly of a strong one."

The report concludes by describing the status of the Chechens living in Russia, outside their republic. The authors speak about the "terrible atmosphere of xenophobia, migrant-phobia and Caucasophobia, which all merge into a single wave of hatred that has covered the whole of Russia."

According to the authors, the critical situation created in Chechnya after the December terrorists' attack on Grozny, may have an "unpredictable effects on the overall situation of Chechens in Russia."

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.