Amnesty International has called on several European countries to "immediately halt" the transfer of refugees and asylum seekers from the North Caucasus back to Russia, citing the risk of torture and other mistreatment.
"Due to their religious and ethnic identity...entire communities have been branded as 'dangerous extremists' that pose an existential threat to national security, allegedly justifying their return to a region where their rights are at real risk," the rights group said in a statement on January 18.
A recent study cited by Amnesty International found that authorities in Croatia, France, Germany, Poland, and Romania “have or have attempted” to extradite or deport North Caucasian asylum seekers.
Various ethnic groups live in the North Caucasus, which includes the regions of Chechnya, Daghestan, and Ingushetia, and most of them are Muslims.
Nils Muiznieks, director of Amnesty International’s Europe regional office, said European states "must recognize that many individuals of such background would face arrest or abduction, torture, other ill-treatment, or forced conscription on their return."
He said it was "scandalous" for European countries to be "threatening to send people who fled persecution in Russia's North Caucasus back to the very place where those abuses have occurred."
People seeking protection in Europe must have their needs fairly assessed in light of the poor human rights situation in Russia and the ongoing war in Ukraine, Muiznieks added.
Amnesty International also warned that individuals sent back to Russia would be at risk of being sent to fight in the Kremlin's war in Ukraine, and those who refuse or attempt to flee mobilization risk serious human rights violations.
The rights group noted that there are credible reports that ethnic minorities in Russia are "disproportionately mobilized into the armed forces."
The group assessed the human rights situation in the North Caucasus as "dire," with those expressing critical views and members of the LGBT community particularly at risk of "being targeted."
Amnesty International also warned about what it described as "discrimination and stigmatization in Europe of people from the North Caucasus."
