After Gadamauri's murder, European rights defenders worry about extradited Chechens

After the murder in the counter-terrorist operation (CTO) held in Ingushetia of Khusen Gadamauri, a native of Chechnya, who had been extradited from Germany, it is necessary to reconsider the practice of extraditing Chechens to Russia, said Ekkehard Maas, the head of the German-Caucasian Society. The death of Gadamauri raises concern for the fate of other Chechens who have been extradited or are awaiting it, said Pascal Chaudot, the head of the Chechnya Committee in France.

The statement posted on the website of the German-Caucasian Society says that Gadamauri "was one of the young people who refused to serve in Ramzan Kadyrov's private army." The Society has also states that Russia "is not a legal state with which to cooperate, especially when young Chechens are extradited, charges against whom were brought under the bloody dictatorship."

According to Kirill Koroteev, the head of the international practice of the "Agora" Human Rights Group and a lawyer working with the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), "now Germany, most likely, can do nothing, and even if there were detailed guarantees, at most, what it could to write a note of protest to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA)."

According to Mr Koroteev, "the ECtHR sees no problem in extraditions to Russia, even to Northern Caucasus."

According to Ekkehard Maas, Gadamauri (and many other young people) avoided joining the ranks of "Kadyrov's people"; but they committed no attacks, that is, no terrorist activity as such.

In 2018, French human rights defenders protested against the extradition to Russia of Shamil Soltamuradov, undertaken by Germany. Then, the League for Human Rights (LDH), the International Federation for the Defence of Human Rights (FIDH), the "Civil Assistance" Committee and the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial" sent an appeal to the French President Emmanuel Macron.