Murat Gasaev (also transliterated as Murad Gasayev), was a Russian

refugee A refugee, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), is a person "forced to flee their own country and seek safety in another country. They are unable to return to their own country because of feared persecution as ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. An ethnic Chechen from the

Republic of Ingushetia Ingushetia or Ingushetiya, officially the Republic of Ingushetia, is a Republics of Russia, republic of Russia located in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe. The republic is part of the North Caucasian Federal District, and shares land border ...

, he was

extradited In an extradition, one jurisdiction delivers a person accused or convicted of committing a crime in another jurisdiction, into the custody of the other's law enforcement. It is a cooperative law enforcement procedure between the two jurisdic ...

to Russia in December 2008 despite protests by

human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

organizations including

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...

and

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Headquartered in New York City, the group investigates and reports on issues including War crime, war crimes, crim ...

. It was feared that Gasaev might be at risk of

torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons including corporal punishment, punishment, forced confession, extracting a confession, interrogational torture, interrogation for information, or intimid ...

and ill-treatment, as well as the denial of a fair trial due to the potential use of evidence extracted under torture in Russia. The Russia's extradition request appeared to have been based on statements by a prisoner in Russian custody who accused Gasaev of being a participant in the events of June 2004 (the

2004 Nazran raid The Nazran raid was a large-scale raid carried out in the Republic of Ingushetia, Russia on the night of June 21–22, 2004, by a group of Chechen militants led by Chechen commanders Shamil Basayev and Dokku Umarov. Basayev's main goal, besides ...

on government buildings in Ingushetia) while under interrogation by the

Federal Security Service The Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation �СБ, ФСБ России (FSB) is the principal security agency of Russia and the main successor agency to the Soviet Union's KGB; its immediate predecessor was the Federal Counterin ...

(FSB). That detainee, Idris Matiev, later retracted his statement, alleging that he had been subjected to beatings, torture with

electric shock An electrical injury (electric injury) or electrical shock (electric shock) is damage sustained to the skin or internal organs on direct contact with an electric current. The injury depends on the Current density, density of the current, tissu ...

s and threats against his family.Spain: Halt Extradition to Russia Spain: Halt Extradition to Russia

, December 16, 2008 (

UNHCR The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and Humanitarian protection, protect refugees, Internally displaced person, forcibly displaced communities, and Statelessness, s ...

) Gasaev has claimed that he was detained in Ingushetia in August 2004 by five masked officers, who took him to the central office of the FSB in Ingushetia, where he was tortured and questioned about the attack. He was not charged and was released after three days of torture. Gasaev fled Russia and eventually sought refuge in Spain in 2005. However, his claim of

asylum Asylum may refer to: Types of asylum * Asylum (antiquity), places of refuge in ancient Greece and Rome * Benevolent asylum, a 19th-century Australian institution for housing the destitute * Cities of Refuge, places of refuge in ancient Judea * ...

was rejected on the basis of "confidential information provided by the Spanish authorities." In December 2006, he was arrested as a suspected "militant" by the Spanish authorities in

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

at the request of Russia. The

Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; , CdE) is an international organisation with the goal of upholding human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. Founded in 1949, it is Europe's oldest intergovernmental organisation, represe ...

Committee for the Prevention of Torture A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly or other form of organization. A committee may not itself be considered to be a form of assembly or a decision-making body. Usually, an assembly o ...

is not known to have been consulted about the "diplomatic assurances" given by the Russian public prosecutor until after the Spanish court had approved the extradition request. According to experts, "with or without guarantees, a Chechen who is accused of killing police officers does not stay alive for long in a Russian prison." On December 31, 2008, Gasaev was sent to Russia without any anti-torture guarantees in the first such extradition from a European country. Amnesty International said the extradition violated Spain's obligations under

international human rights law International human rights law (IHRL) is the body of international law designed to promote human rights on social, regional, and domestic levels. As a form of international law, international human rights law is primarily made up of treaties, ag ...

, including the United Nations Convention Against Torture.Document - Spain: Fear of forcible return/Fear of torture or other ill-treatment: Murad Gasayev (m)

, 11 December 2008 On June 30, 2009, the senior Russian investigator in charge of the case ruled that all charges should be dropped against Gasayev, whose

alibi An alibi (, from the Latin, '' alibī'', meaning "somewhere else") is a statement by a person under suspicion in a crime that they were in a different place when the offence was committed. During a police investigation, all suspects are usually a ...

was corroborated by five witnesses. He was freed on August 28, after 10 months in detention in Russia. "It’s a great relief that Gasayev is out of detention, but he should never have been there in the first place," Tanya Lokshina, HRW's deputy Moscow director said.Russia: Extradited Chechen Terrorism Suspect Freed

, September 1, 2009

References

External links

Spain Holds Out Extradition Promises to Russia
''

Kommersant (, , ''The Businessman'' or Commerce Man, often shortened to Ъ) is a nationally distributed daily newspaper published in Russia mostly devoted to politics and business. The TNS Media and NRS Russia certified July 2013 circulation of the daily ...

'', June 21, 2007
Chechen Committee for National Salvation asks Spanish authorities not to deport Ingushetian refugee to Russia

Memorial A memorial is an object or place which serves as a focus for the memory or the commemoration of something, usually an influential, deceased person or a historical, tragic event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects such as home ...

, 22/3/2008
Ingushes of Germany ask Spain not to extradite refugee Gasaev to Russia

, 5/4/2008
Letter to the Spanish government regarding the extradition of Murat Ajmedovich Gasayev

, May 12, 2008 (also i
Spanish
an
Russian
)
Spain approves Chechen's extradition

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

, December 12, 2008
Human rights activists of Ingushetia protest against Murad Gasaev's extradition

, 19/12/2008
Carta al gobierno español sobre la extradición de Murat Ajmedovich Gasayev

, May 7, 2008
El proceso de extradición de Murat Gasayev a la Federación Rusa
,

, October 8, 2008
España extradita a Rusia a un checheno que pidió asilo por torturas
''

El País (; ) is a Spanish-language daily newspaper in Spain. is based in the capital city of Madrid and it is owned by the Spanish media conglomerate PRISA. It is the second-most circulated daily newspaper in Spain . is the most read newspaper in ...

'', 13/12/2008
España: No deben aceptarse las “garantías diplomáticas” de Rusia en el caso Gasayev

, December 15, 2008
España: Detener extradición a Rusia; Sospechoso checheno en riesgo de sufrir tortura

, December 16, 2008 {{DEFAULTSORT:Gasayev 1974 births Chechen victims of human rights abuses Ingush people Living people People of the Chechen wars Russian torture victims Russian expatriates in Spain People extradited from Spain Foreign nationals imprisoned in Spain People extradited to Russia