Belarusian refugee taken from temporary accommodation centre in Russia to unknown location. He may be extradited to Belarus where he faces jail term for extremism

Bailiffs in Russia’s Krasnodar region have taken Yury Kastsiuk, a Belarusian refugee, from a temporary accommodation centre for foreign citizens to an unknown location, the Civic Assistance Committee told Novaya Gazeta. Europe.

On the morning of 15 October, an employee of the accommodation centre in the Novoukrainskoe settlement told the human rights organisation that Kastsiuk had been taken from the centre to an unknown location.

“Employees of the centre did not provide the documents confirming this to his attorney. An appeal session regarding his extradition is scheduled for 17 October. Until the ruling of the appellate court, his extradition is unlawful,” the Civic Assistance Committee stated.

On 13 October, there was an attempt to unlawfully extradite Kastsiuk to Belarus via the Sochi airport, however, he was returned to the accommodation centre on the same day. “At the centre, bruises and signs of physical abuse were documented on his body,” the Civic Assistance Committee added.

Kastsiuk was detained in Sochi in May upon request of Belarus. He was trying to board a plane to Armenia. An arrest warrant was issued for him in Belarus on charges of abetting extremism due to the fact that he participated in a group chat for those sentenced to khimiya, a parole-like sentence during which convicts serve their sentence at home and are only allowed to leave for limited periods of time. He faces up to 7 years in prison.

In late September, the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office refused to extradite Kastsiuk, however, soon after his release, Yury was detained on administrative charges for violating residence rules. On 27 September, a Russian court ruled to extradite Kastsiuk.

The Belarusian national was previously sentenced to one year of khimiya back in his home country for desecrating state symbols after he took down a state flag on the street. He later got a jail term of 1 months and 16 days for the same crime. Kastsiuk served his sentence fully and was released in January 2022.