Representatives of Chechen human rights organizations and diaspora groups held rallies in Brussels and Vienna in support of their fellow refugees facing imprisonment in Europe or deportation to Russia.

Justice for Meyriev
Rallies were held in Brussels in support of Ruslan Meyriev, a native of Ingushetia who is being held in a prison in the Belgian city of Mechelen, awaiting a court decision on his extradition. Human rights activists are demanding that the authorities not extradite the prisoner to Russia, where he faces reprisals.

41-year-old Ruslan Meyriev left Russia in 2013. He first moved to Crimea, and after the annexation of the peninsula, he went to Ukraine, where he married a local woman. When the war began, he emigrated to Sweden. In June 2024, at the request of Belgian law enforcement, he was detained in Stockholm on suspicion of participating in hostilities in Syria.

Russian authorities also demanded that Sweden extradite Meyriev, but the Swedes handed him over to the Belgians. In Russia, Meyriev was accused of involvement in plotting terrorist attacks ahead of the 2014 Sochi Olympics, and there were also allegations of his ties to the terrorist group Islamic State. He was placed on Interpol's wanted list and detained in Ukraine, but was soon released with the assistance of Rada deputies.

Meyriev denies fighting in Syria. He claims that Belgian investigators are relying on materials fabricated by Russian intelligence services and that the photographs included in the case file depict someone other than him. In protest against the unlawful prosecution, he held a 30-day hunger strike in a Mechelen prison.
Chechen human rights activist and head of PeaceWomen Across the Globe, Fatima Gazieva, visited him in prison in May. She noted that "his health is poor, his spine is constantly bothering him... He has three lawyers, and none of them are answering our questions. He has now been assigned a lawyer from the migration service, but she is not handling his criminal case."
Gazieva organized a rally held in Brussels on June 4 under the slogans "Justice for Ruslan Meyriev" and "Stop Human Rights Violations." Speakers at the rally discussed inadequate legal assistance, the threat of extradition to Russia, where Meyriev faces reprisals, and the need to consolidate the efforts of the Chechen and Ingush diasporas abroad to defend the rights of refugees.

On June 15, another picket was held in the Belgian capital. Participants demanded the release of Meyriev, who has been in solitary confinement for eight months.

A Dangerous Precedent
Ruslan Meyriev is far from the only native of the Caucasus facing extradition. As Novy Dosh reported, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the number of Chechen and Ingush refugees seeking refuge in Europe from conscription and repression in their homeland has increased dramatically. However, not everyone is successful in obtaining asylum in EU countries. Romania and Croatia are particularly tightly guarded.

For example, in November 2022, 50 Chechens were detained in Croatia. According to the Assembly of Chechens of Europe, some of them have been subjected to violence, threats, and insults. "They are not allowed to contact their families and lawyers, they are subjected to intense pressure, demanding that they sign a renunciation of their asylum applications, and then they are deported... The migrants find themselves in the same powerless position they were in Chechnya," said Isa Daduyev, a representative of the Assembly of Chechens of Europe.
In December 2022, a group of 20 refugees from Chechnya and Ingushetia were expelled from Bosnia and Herzegovina to Turkey. They planned to seek political asylum in Croatia, but were denied entry.
In April 2023, a Croatian court denied asylum to five Chechen nationals, citing possible "Islamic extremists." They protested by staging a hunger strike at a deportation center in Croatia, but Croatian authorities remained silent.

Finally, in April 2025, news broke of the detention of three Chechen refugees in Croatia, allegedly suspected of terrorism. Human rights organizations from Switzerland, Austria, and Belgium sent letters to the Croatian government and Interior Ministry, demanding an explanation for the detention.
In May, activists from the unrecognized Chechen Republic of Ichkeria held a picket in Austria demanding asylum for Chechens fleeing conscription in their homeland. The picket was timed to coincide with the International Day of Conscientious Objectors to Military Service, celebrated on May 15.
Several people gathered outside the Croatian Embassy in Vienna with signs in English: "Stop the inhumane deportation of Chechens to Russia," "The world sees Russia's crimes – doesn't it?", and "Croatia, don't be an accomplice to crimes, don't extradite Chechens to Russia."
As protester Roza Dunaeva wrote on her Facebook page, Croatian authorities, by threatening to extradite Chechen refugees to Russia, "violate international law, the principles of humanism, and Croatia's obligations as a member of the European Union."
"Chechen refugees fled their homeland to escape repression and threats. It is unacceptable that European countries are using the same methods of pressure from which these people fled." "Such behavior discredits European values ​​and sets a dangerous precedent, jeopardizing the safety of all refugees in the EU. We urge the Croatian authorities to comply with international law and the Geneva Refugee Convention and respect human rights. Work with Chechen refugees must be based on the law, not threats and political manipulation," the activist stated.