After deporting to Russia, native of Chechnya Artsuev disappears

French authorities have handed Lezi Artsuev, a native of Chechnya, over to Russia, after which he disappeared, Elena Milashina, a journalist, has reported. According to sources, after deportation, Artsuev was taken to the city of Gudermes.

Lezi Artsuev, a native of Chechnya, born in 1977, since April 3, after his deportation from France, has been kept in one of Chechen power structures in Gudermes, the "1Adat" anonymous Telegram channel, opposition to Chechen authorities, reported in the evening on April 10.

"Artsuev had been in France since 2012, but on April 1, 2021, he was detained, and the very next day [...] he was hastily deported. [...] Within our new human rights project 'Bakionan Toure' (Legal Shield), we have already hired an advocate for Lezi, so that he could establish his whereabouts and status," the channel post says.

The fact of Artsuev's disappeared after his deportation from France to Russia was also reported by Yelena Milashina, a journalist, in her post of April 9 on the "Novaya Gazeta" website. According to her story, Artsuev was deported on April 5.

"Almost every week, deported Chechens are brought from Paris to Moscow by air. As a rule, they disappear at Sheremetyevo Airport and appear in Chechnya already as defendants in dubious criminal cases. [...] And this is at best. Some, like [...] Lezi Artsuev, who was deported from France on April 5, disappeared altogether," says the post.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on April 11, 2021 at 12:38 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.