Days after it condemned the murder of a Tajik opposition figure in Istanbul, Amnesty International has issued an urgent action in the case of Arubika Suleymanova, a Russian citizen of Chechen origin, who is facing deportation from Turkey.  Amnesty is concerned that, if returned she faces the risk of ill-treatment, torture, or unfair trial.  It urges Turkish authorities not to return Arubika Suleymanova to the Russian Federation or any third country from which she is at risk of being returned to the Russian Federation.

According to Amnesty:

In Russia [Suleymanova] is facing charges of “financing terrorism”. According to her lawyers, these charges relate to 10,000 roubles (approximately US$300) she allegedly gave to one of her sons for his subsistence in 2010. His son who has since been killed had joined a Chechen armed group…

Arubika Suleymanova’s lawyers have applied to an administrative court to stop her deportation arguing that she would be at risk of torture if returned to the Russian Federation. While according to the law this appeal has a suspensive effect, meaning that people cannot be removed from the country pending the outcome of their appeals, in practice, people have previously been deported from Turkey while their appeals were pending.

Amnesty is urging its worldwide membership to take call on Turkey to ensure that Suleymanova is not deported.  Information on how to take action can be found here.  Alternately, Amnesty – Turkey has created an online petition form [text in Turkish only, but site is easy to navigate for English speakers].