The exchange of Krasikov for Russian oppositionists has caused a strong resonance throughout Europe and Ukraine. This is another slap in the face of the Chechen people and the face of European justice. European authorities, including the German government, as a state governed by the rule of law, have taken upon themselves the responsibility for justice. Without the knowledge and consent of the injured party, a murderer cannot be pardoned and exchanged for other people. But this is exactly how they treated the relatives of the deceased Zelimkhan Khangoshvili, without even notifying them, they handed over the murderer Krasikov to Putin, hurting the feelings of the entire European Chechen community, which can no longer feel safe in these countries. This is a signal of impunity to Putin’s killers in Europe, they will henceforth act much more confidently and brazenly. In this situation, Europe will no longer be able to effectively ensure the right to a safe life for political refugees.
Who was Krasikov exchanged for? For the so-called Russian liberals who did not even deign to express words of condolence to the family of Zelimkhan Khangoshvili, thanks to whose death they were freed. By exchanging them for the murderer of the Chechen, the West hoped to strengthen the anti-Putin opposition abroad. But in his first interview after his release, Vladimir Kara-Murza said that it was necessary to separate the country and Putin and lift sanctions against Russia. Ilya Yashin called on the West to begin negotiations with Russia.
It is absolutely unacceptable that not a single Chechen in opposition to Putin’s regime was included in the exchange for the murderer of a Chechen. First of all, this is a woman, Zarema Musayeva, the mother of the leader of the opposition movement 1 adat, Ibrahim Yangulbaev. Poet Shamil Arbini. Publisher of religious literature Aslambek Ezhaev and many others. None of them were even mentioned. I am not even talking about the thousands of fighters who resisted the occupation of Chechnya, sitting in Russian prisons and dozens of commanders of these fighters. If you ask the Chechens who to release first, Chechen resistance fighters or oppositionists, then without a doubt the fighters will have priority, not the oppositionists and information workers. But we know that Chechen fighters have no chance of being on Putin’s exchange lists. They do not even have the status of prisoners of war, unlike Ukrainian fighters, which will give some idea about their condition, when we know what Ukrainian prisoners of war are facing today. Therefore, the primary task is to work on the recognition by international organizations of the status of prisoners of war for Chechen resistance fighters who are in Russian prisons under the article of participation in illegal armed formations.
