North Caucasians end hunger strike in Croatian immigration prison

Magomed-Amin Gatagazhev, a native of Ingushetia who faces extradition to Russia from Croatia, required medical attention after a hunger strike. Gatagazhev's fellow countrymen ended their protest at his request.

As "Caucasian Knot" reported, human rights activist Roza Dunaeva had previously reported on the hunger strike by North Caucasus natives in the Yezhevo migration prison since January 19. About 50 asylum seekers from Dagestan, Chechnya, and Ingushetia were protesting against inhumane treatment in the facility and the planned deportation of 19-year-old Magomed-Amin Gatagazhev. Gatagazhev has been charged with terrorism in Russia.

The hunger strike of North Caucasus nationals in the Ezevo immigration prison in Croatia has been ended at the request of Magomed-Amin Gatagazhev: the young man, who participated in the protest, was unable to continue due to a sharp deterioration in his health, the Novy Dosh newspaper reported on February 4.

"After receiving medical assistance, he asked the protesters to end the protest, expressing gratitude for their support," the publication stated.

The investigation claims that he "joined an armed group at the age of 13-14," but hasn't provided the defense with the materials on which the case against him is based. Therefore, the lawyer believes Gatagazhev's persecution is politically motivated, according to a publication by the Memorial Human Rights Center*.

The defense expresses serious concerns for Gatagazhev's life if he is extradited to Russia. According to his relatives, Magomed-Amin's mother took him and his sister out of Russia when the children were still minors, and he lived and studied in Turkey until 2025. The Malgobek City Court issued a ruling in absentia ordering his arrest on October 12, 2022, when he had just turned 16.

Magomed-Amin Gatagazhev is the brother of Leyla Gatagazheva, who was extradited to Russia from Iraq in June 2023. Leyla Gatagazheva, born in 2001, is a mother of two. She was accused of aiding terrorist activity and participating in an illegal armed group in Syria. Relatives took her from Ingushetia to the Middle East at age 12 and married her off there when she turned 13. She had already served a five-year sentence in an Iraqi prison on a similar charge of working for militants.

The defense sought to have her criminal prosecution in Russia dropped, arguing that there was no evidence of her guilt in the case. The terrorism charges against Leyla were subsequently dropped, human rights activists note.

* are listed as foreign agents.

** Meta (owner of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp) is banned in Russia.