OUT OF SIGHT,
NOT OUT OF REACH
The Global Scale and Scope
of Transnational Repression
ranks of organizations that participated in the Syrian civil war,
like the Islamic State (IS) militant group, contributed further
to the perception of Chechnya first and foremost as a source
of terrorist activity.201
“This modern age and technology
allow us to know everything and
we can find any of you.”
–Head of the Chechen Republic Ramzan Kadyrov
These associations have made it easier for European
governments to default to national security arguments
when rejecting asylum claims or deporting Chechens,
especially as terrorist attacks regularly occur in Europe
and amid hardening attitudes towards migration in general.
Harsh border measures imposed after 2015 resulted in a
constant process of “pushbacks” at the Belarusian-Polish
land border, with Polish authorities returning Chechens
without allowing them to apply for asylum.202 Chechnya’s
government understands this dynamic, and likely manipulates
the distribution of national security information to European
governments in order to prompt deportations.203
As Milashina has written, the situation is paradoxical: while
European political authorities have recognized the uniquely
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@FreedomHouse
brutal nature of Kadyrov’s rule in Chechnya, they frequently
deny asylum to Chechens who flee it.204 Those deported at
the Chechen Republic’s request face brutality. Some who
return to Chechnya from Europe are initially allowed to
go free, only to be imprisoned or killed later in “security
operations” that human rights groups have described as
extrajudicial executions by another name.205
Kadyrov himself is open about his intent to control Chechens
abroad, by force if necessary. In 2016, he spoke to state TV and
addressed Chechens living abroad who criticized his regime:
You are harming yourselves. At some point, after 5 to 10
years you will have to return, or your parents will say you
should come back, or you will be chased from Europe.
Then there will be nowhere for you to go, and then
we will make you answer for every one of your words,
for every action you have taken. I know all the sites, I
know all the youth who live in Europe, every Instagram,
Facebook, every social site, we record all of your words
and we note them, we have all of your information, who,
what, we know it all. This modern age and technology
allow us to know everything and we can find any of you,
so don't make it worse for yourselves.206
In September 2020, Kadyrov announced the formation of a
new agency for Chechens abroad. He promised to “do better”
to support “good Chechens,” while doing “to bad Chechens…
what we have to.”207
#TransnationalRepression