Is France cracking down on Chechen asylum seekers?

The case of Magomed Gadaev, who was forced on a Russia-bound plane last month, has raised concerns among legal experts and rights groups.

As a key witness in a rare case brought against the Chechen authorities for abduction and torture, Magomed Gadaev fled Russia in 2010. He had sought safety in France, but on April 9, France deported the 36-year-old Chechen asylum seeker. A removal order issued by France’s interior ministry on April 9 – the day he was deported – claimed Gadaev was “deeply rooted in the radical Chechen Islamist movement” and “likely to commit a violent action” on French soil.