Rights defenders: Chechen native subjected to pressure after his deportation from France

Agents of the Russian FSB have not let Mansur Ismailov, deported from France, to leave the Sheremetyevo Airport in Moscow and are forcing him to fly to Chechnya, human rights defenders report. Mansur Ismailov is deprived of urgently needed medicines and complains of poor health state, his spouse states.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that Mansur Ismailov, a 39-year-old native of Chechnya, who left Russia in 2007, lived in France. On May 11, he was detained at a police station where he came to undergo a regular check procedure and was hastily deported. His wife learned about the deportation of her husband when he was already on the plane.

On May 12, Mansur Ismailov called his wife and told her that his plane had landed in Moscow. The man noted that he was calling from a mobile phone of one of the FSB agents who detained him at the Sheremetyevo Airport. Mansur Ismailov said that the law enforcers were insisting on his relatives buying a ticket to Grozny for him.

Mansur Ismailov twice more contacted his wife by mobile phones, including today. The man reported that he still stayed at the Sheremetyevo Airport, because he was not allowed out of there. Mansur Ismailov complained that he felt bad because of the lack of medicines he needed. In 2019, the man underwent kidney replacement surgery, and he should take on schedule the medicines that remained in France.

Mansur Ismailov was unable to take the necessary medicines with him, because the deportation took place suddenly, says Oyub Titiev, an employee of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) “Memorial”*. The spouse pointed out the threat to her husband’s health. “Sometimes he fainted. He held on through strength. His life depends on medicines. His transplanted kidney will begin to reject without the medicines. It’s beyond words how I feel. It’s vital for him to return to France,” said Diana Ismailova.

Mansur Ismailov is not allowed to be visited by an advocate, Oyub Titiev claims.

* the HRC "Memorial" is recognized in the Russian Federation as a foreign agent.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on May 13, 2021 at 06:22 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.