Croatia deports Russian asylum seeking activist Abasov

Croatia has deported Ruslan Abasov, a Russian activist who sought asylum in the country, Dovod reports.

Croatia’s Security and Intelligence Agency accused Abasov of promoting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and possessing a blade weapon as well as child porn. He is wanted in Russia for a rally against political oppression.

Abasov was deported to Bosnia and Herzegovina and banned from entering the EU for 5 years.

“The Security and Intelligence Agency believes you threaten Croatia’s national security. You possess incriminating digital content that has signs of criminal sexual abuse and exploitation of a minor, as well as content that promotes Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and you also possess a blade weapon.

You are a cruel and deviant person inclined to committing crimes against lives and wellness, as well as civil order and peace,”

the Croatian special agency stated.

Abasov left Russia for Montenegro when he was released from a Russian pretrial jail on a written pledge not to leave town. He later arrived in Croatia without a visa, requesting asylum.

“After three months in an immigration detention facility, I was released by court, but immediately detained and accused of committing numerous grave crimes,” Abasov says.

He believes the allegations were fabricated as “Croatia currently has a very negative policy towards Russian nationals who seek asylum”.

In December 2021, Abasov and another man named Lev Skoryakin rallied before the FSB building in Moscow, holding anti-FSB posters and burning flares. They were eventually charged with hooliganism, and Abasov was also charged with vandalism. The two men left Russia after a Moscow court issued a restraining order for them.

On 9 June, Skoryakin was detained in Kyrgyzstan’s capital Bishkek.