On 4 December, a public protest action was held in Kyiv, near the premises of the Honorary Consulate of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Ukraine, in support of the Chechen refugee Selima Hadisova and other refugees representing enslaved people who are threatened with deportation from Europe to the so-called “Russian Federation”. The Ukrainian Information Service reported this.
Opening the action, the President of the Anti-Imperial Block of Nations Oleh Medunytsya stressed the need for solidarity with the Chechen people, who continue to fight for freedom. “Today we demand that the authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina grant Selima Hadisova political asylum and release her to her children”, – said Oleh Medunytsya. On the territory of the so-called “Russian Federation”, activists of the Chechen national liberation movement are constantly persecuted by both the Putin regime and Kadyrov’s repressive system. Many Chechens, as well as representatives of other enslaved nations, are forced to leave their homeland but in the free world, they are also threatened with deportation. This cannot be allowed! The stories of Chechen refugees Selima Khadisova and Muslim Tsentsayev, who are currently detained in Bosnia and Herzegovina and France, respectively, are extremely illustrative in this regard. Ukrainians call on the governments of these states to provide these worthy daughters and sons of the freedom-loving Chechen people with political asylum.
The participants of the action submitted to the Honorary Consulate of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Ukraine an Appeal from the Anti-Imperial Block of Nations, which emphasizes that the persecution of Selima Hadisova by the law enforcement agencies of the Russian Federation is political, as she is accused of aiding the fighters of the national liberation movement of Ichkeria. The story of Selima Hadisova is similar to the stories of hundreds of other women and men, representatives of enslaved nations, who the law enforcement agencies of the Russian Federation unjustly persecute.
“We draw attention to the fact that the deportation of refugees from among the enslaved nations, in particular – Chechens, to Russia, threatens them with new persecution, torture and mortal danger. These people are seeking refuge in the countries of the free world, fleeing from violence and cruel repression. In January 2024, the human rights organization Amnesty International called on the EU not to deport refugees from the North Caucasus to Russia, as they are threatened with torture or being sent to war in Ukraine.
The Anti-Imperial Block of Nations demands freedom for Salima Hadisova and other refugees who represent the enslaved nations of the Russian Federation. We ask the government of Bosnia and Herzegovina to grant political asylum to Selima Hadisova, as a refugee and a mother of many children who was forced to leave her place of residence, fleeing domestic violence and political repression,” the Appeal concludes.
We recall that on 29 September 2024, a 32-year-old citizen of the Russian Federation, a resident of Chechnya, Selima Hadisova, was detained at the Sarajevo airport along with her three children, who had arrived in Bosnia and Herzegovina from Turkey. Selima is currently under temporary arrest due to an extradition order issued by Interpol in Moscow. The first court left Selima Hadisova under arrest, despite the defence’s request to release her and allow her to be with her children. The Chechen native has already applied for political asylum to avoid deportation. Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Law on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters stipulates that a person who has requested asylum cannot be deported while the proceedings are ongoing.
