Asylum in the EU for the mastermind behind the attacks at Istanbul airport

6.7.2016

Question for written answer E-005564-16
to the Commission
Rule 130
Mario Borghezio (ENF)

The latest terrorist attack in Istanbul is reported to have been carried out by an Isis cell in Chechnya, which perpetrated attacks in Russia and then established its base in Turkey in the 1990s.

According to the Russian and Turkish media, the mastermind behind the massacre was Akhmed Chatayev, who has been on the list of wanted terrorists in Russia since 2003, when he obtained asylum in Austria, and who in 2008 was imprisoned in Sweden along with other Chechens.

Russia's request for his extradition was blocked by the European Court of Human Rights and Amnesty International, which asked Ukraine not to hand him over to the Russian authorities. He was then detained at the Turkish-Bulgarian border, but avoided extradition through the intervention of human rights organisations.

From 2012 to 2015, Chatayev lived in Georgia, where he joined various rebel groups and was imprisoned on charges of terrorism. In February 2015, he travelled to Syria, where he joined the highest ranks of Isis. In 2015, the US Department of Justice decided to place him on the list of wanted terrorists.

On 29 January 2016, Russia released documents stating that Chatayev and other Isis cells were planning terrorist attacks in Russia and Europe.

How does the Commission view this series of disastrous errors, which have made it possible for such a dangerous terrorist to move around freely?