Thread by @ChrisO_wiki

1/ Russian refugees deported by the United States back to Russia have experienced intensive interrogation, threats, violence, and torture, according to Russian sources. Thousands of Russians have fled to the US to escape the war and political persecution by the Putin regime. ⬇️

2/ On 27 August, 50 Russians were deported from the US to Russia, including dozens of asylum seekers. According to Dmitry Valuev, they comprised Russian citizens who were in immigration prisons in the United States, who had lost asylum cases or chose self-deportation.

3/ The Russian human rights activist Vladimir Osechkin reports:

4/ "A plane with a convoy of Egyptian special services (at Cairo airport, American ICE officers handed the Russians over to Egyptians for subsequent transfer to Russia) arrived at Domodedovo Airport, where dozens of Russian special services were already waiting for the deportees.

5/ "A source for reports that all those forcibly deported from the United States to Domodedovo were put through "filtration" – hours of interrogation using pressure, threats, and for some, violence and special means.Gulagu.net

6/ "Almost all of those who returned were pressured by FSB and Interior Ministry operatives to "cooperate", interrogated about the reasons for their trip to the US and details of their detention and placement in detention, …

7/ …requests for political asylum and the functioning of US services (ICE, FBI, Justice Department, courts, lawyers, human rights activists), and forced to provide information about "flight neighbours" ("snitching").

8/ "Following the filtering, some were released on the condition of "cooperating", others (who are not of operational interest at the moment) – on the condition of participating in a propaganda campaign against the US/West (participation in talk shows, interviews, etc., …

9/ …with the purpose of advertising the "Return to the Russian Federation").

10/ "But a number of men and women were detained for subsequent transfer to temporary detention facilities and pre-trial detention centers, including those who had previously served in the Russian Armed Forces and refused to take part in the war against Ukraine.

11/ "The source reports that torture, violence and special means were used against a number of individuals, and threats were made to commit violent acts against them in a perverted form and send them "to zero in the Special Military Operation" (to the front line,…

12/ …to the occupied territories of Ukraine to participate in the war)."

The war in Ukraine and the Russian government's persecutions of political opponents and LGBT people have caused a large increase in the number of Russians applying for asylum in the US.

13/ Figures have increased from 10,000 in 2021, to 36,000 in 2022, and 57,000 in 2023. They include anti-war activists, opposition figures, LGBT people who have faced persecution, and men who have either deserted from the Russian army or are evading mobilisation.

14/ The latter seem to have prompted security concerns in the US, leading to the mass detention of Russians crossing the border from Mexico and seeking asylum. Many were detained under the Biden Administration. Some have sued to be released.

15/ Now, under Trump, Russian refugees are being deported despite a clear threat to their lives. Vladimir Osechkin reports that seven charges have already been brought against the deportees for offences ranging from cooperation with "undesirable organizations" to high treason.

16/ As Osechkin puts it, "What these people told ICE officers, as well as in court, is confirmed and is becoming a nightmare in reality."

The deportations indicate that the Trump Administration is ignoring both US and international law in relation to the protection of refugees.

17/ They appear to violate the principle of non-refoulement, a fundamental principle of international law forbidding a country from deporting individuals to a country where their "life or freedom would be threatened"…

18/ …on account of "race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion."

19/ The US Immigration and Nationality Act specifically prohibits the removal of someone who has not been granted asylum but shows that their "life or freedom would be threatened" because of certain characteristics if they were sent back to their country of origin. /end

Sources:
🔹 t.me/NetGulagu/12047
🔹 t.me/astrapress/908…
🔹 t.me/astrapress/644…
🔹 astra.press/russian/2024/0…