A group of Chechens “who fled from the Northern Military District” were deported from Sarajevo to Istanbul

A group of Russian citizens from Chechnya and Ingushetia who tried to enter Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) through the airport in Sarajevo were deported back to Istanbul.

This was reported by Balkan media, as reported by a PolitNavigator correspondent.

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About 20 Chechens and Ingush arrived on December 28 in Sarajevo (the capital of BiH) on a flight from Istanbul. According to their statements, they left the territory of the Russian Federation in connection with possible mobilization to participate in the Northern Military District.

All of them planned to then enter Croatian territory and receive political asylum there, as more than 50 of their fellow tribesmen stuck on the Bosnian-Croatian border are now trying to do.

At the border control, the arrivals' documents were confiscated, after which everyone, including young children, was kept locked up for almost a day. BiH Border Police said they were detained to verify the reasons and validity of their entry into Bosnia and Herzegovina. At the same time, the Chechens complained that they were kept “in a cold construction container,” and the children were not given hot water to prepare the formula. On the evening of December 29, they were all sent back to Istanbul.

On Friday, December 30, the BiH border police were unable to provide more detailed information about the group of Russian citizens, but the day before, the adviser to the police director, Svevlad Hoffman, said that these individuals were “abusing the visa-free regime between BiH and the Russian Federation” and that they did not meet the conditions for entry in BiH.

Previously, the border police of BiH reported that from November 1 to December 25, 1654 Russian citizens entered Bosnia and Herzegovina, and 24 decisions were issued to ban entry into the country - within the framework of the law on foreigners.

As PolitNavigator reported , due to attempts by Chechens to enter Croatia from Bosnia and Herzegovina to seek political asylum, the visa-free regime between Russia and Bosnia and Herzegovina may be revoked.