ECHR Examines Admissibility in Case of Alleged Chechen Militants

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) will today examine the admissibility of application lodged by 13 Chechens, who were arrested by Georgian border guards on 3-5 August 2002, near the Chechen section of the Russo-Georgian border.

The Chechens were charged with illegal crossing the state boarder and unlawful possessing and trading in firearms. Five of them were immediately extradited to Russia at the request of the latter, while the other eight Chechens remain in detention in Tbilisi pending the extradition procedure and domestic criminal proceedings.

On 4 and 9 October 2002 the Chechens lodged a preliminary application with ECHR challenging their imminent extradition to Russia, the press release issued by the ECHR Registrar reads.    

The applicants submit that their extradition to the Russian Federation, where capital punishment has not been abolished, exposes them to a real risk of death or torture.