28 February 2023, 22:39
Rights defenders call for release of Chechen Idris Arsamikov
Ten international and Russian human rights organizations have called on Russian authorities to release Idris Arsamikov, who was detained in Moscow and taken to Chechnya.
The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on February 16 it became known that the 28-year-old Idris Arsamikov, who had returned from the Netherlands to Russia, was detained in Moscow. Presumably, he was taken to Chechnya, where he is in mortal danger, human rights defenders assert. On February 21, they appealed to the UN about Arsamikov's fate.
"The whereabouts of Idris Arsamikov remains unknown; his life is in danger. Russian authorities must immediately release him or disclose his whereabouts," the Norwegian Helsinki Committee (NHC) has stated in its website.
The statement was signed by the Amnesty International (AI), the Human Rights Watch (HRW), the SOS Netherlands, the NHC, the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), the World Organization Against Torture, the Civic Assistance Committee*, the SK SOS Crisis Group, the "Memorial" Centre for Defence of Human Rights and the Team Against Torture.
Let us remind you that Idris Arsamikov left Russia in 2018 after being detained, beaten up and tortured with electricity on suspicion of homosexuality.
After he returned to Chechnya in the spring of 2022 for his father's funeral, Arsamikov was detained and tortured three times. On February 17, 2023, a video was posted in social networks, in which Arsamikov stated that he was at home in Chechnya and intended to go to Ukraine to take part in the special military operation (SMO). The video was made under duress, as the detention of Arsamikov caused a great public outcry, human rights defenders have emphasized.
This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on February 28, 2023 at 08:20 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.
Source: Caucasian Knot
