From a Freedom House press release:
In response to Chechen authorities’ efforts to extradite Murad Amriev, a Russian athlete whose family is embroiled in disputes with the Chechen government, from Belarus, Freedom House issues the following statement:
“The government of Belarus should recognize that Chechnya’s request to extradite Amriev is based on wholly bogus charges of forgery, and that he risks being murdered,” said Robert Herman, vice president for international programs at Freedom House. “Amriev fled Chechnya in 2013 after being detained and tortured by police, because of disputes between a brother and Chechen authorities. There are compelling reasons against extraditing Amriev, including Chechen authorities acting systematically outside the law.”
Belarus is rated Not Free in Freedom in the World 2017, Not Free in Freedom of the Press 2017, Not Free in Freedom on the Net 2016, and received a democracy score of 6.61, on a scale of 1 to 7, with 7 as the worst possible score, in Nations in Transit 2017.
Freedom House is an independent watchdog organization that supports democratic change, monitors the status of freedom around the world, and advocates for democracy and human rights.
More about Murad Amriev can be found at Human Rights Watch:
In 2013, Chechen police abducted Amriev, held him for two days, and tortured him, seeking information about his older brother who fled Chechnya years ago. After police released Amriev, without charge, he immediately left Chechnya. He stayed away from Russia for years, visiting only occasionally and hoping that the time and distance from Chechen law enforcement would ensure safety for him and his family.
In the meantime, Chechen authorities put Amriev on a federal wanted list for document forgery, due to an error in the birthdate in his passport that his lawyer said was the fault of the issuing authorities.
Amriev recently returned to Russia for another brief visit. On June 4, police detained him in the Bryansk region on suspicion of using a “forged document” and held him for 48 hours at the police station. By the morning of June 6, the police hadn’t charged Amriev and, according to his lawyer, he was legally free to leave.
Here is Murad Amriev plying his craft with interview at the end of the fight:
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