Rights defenders oppose extradition of Chechen Ali Bakaev

In case of his return to homeland, Ali Bakaev, as a critic of Chechen authorities, risks being killed, the human rights association "Vayfond" has pointed out, calling on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to prevent the extradition of the Chechen native.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that in October 2021, Ali Bakaev stated that the accusations of organizing the attack on law enforcers in the village of Naurskaya were brought against him not on the basis of proofs, but because of his belonging to Salafis. Russia is seeking Bakaev's deportation from Ukraine amid the massive inclusion of Caucasian natives there into sanctions lists, Evgeny Zakharov, the director of the Kharkiv human rights group, has explained.

Bakaev has been in the territory of Ukraine for four years and all this time "has been unsuccessfully fighting for the right to receive the refugee status," says the statement of the "Vayfond" posted on its Telegram channel.

"It's difficult for a young Chechen guy to fight against the whole system, which is sometimes unfair and biased; moreover, the situation is aggravated by the fact that the Russia's FSB is actively interested in Bakaev's extradition," the "Vayfond" has pointed out.

Bakaev is an open critic of the Chechen leadership, human rights defenders have added.

Earlier, Bakaev said that he left Russia on March 23, 2017, after he learned that he was included into the list of alleged extremists.