Chechens demand residency rights in Azerbaijan
| Publisher | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| Publication Date | 18 February 2009 |
| Cite as | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Chechens demand residency rights in Azerbaijan, 18 February 2009, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/499e98e4c.html [accessed 6 October 2022] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
February 18, 2009
Ramzan Mollayev
BAKU Azerbaijan's Chechen community wants residency rights so that they can work legally, RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service reports.
Ramzan Mollayev, the head of the Chechen community in Azerbaijan, told RFE/RL that Chechen refugees have problems in Azerbaijan "because they don't have a legal status" in the country and thus cannot obtain work permits.
Mollayev said that his children and grandchildren were born in Baku and that he wants to work, instead of depending on international groups and Azerbaijanis to survive.
Also, Mollayev said the Azerbaijani government is extraditing Chechen refugees who are "wanted" in Russia without the appropriate procedural steps.
He said that Chechens still don't have any information about Yusup Nagayev, who was turned over to Russia in May 2008. Nagayev, a former driver for a Chechen rebel vice president, was given refugee status in 2002 but was extradited in May 2008.
