I told my family, I'll probably die': US immigration sends Russian asylum seekers back to Moscow

"At least two deportation flights operated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) departed from the agency's major detention hub in Alexandria, Louisiana and landed in Cairo, Egypt, where the asylum seekers were transferred to flights bound for Moscow with the cooperation of Egyptian and Russian authorities, according to interviews with passengers and human rights campaigners. The first flight departed in mid-June and carried about 30 Russian citizens. The most recent, on 27 August, transported approximately 50 people."

"We were shackled and handcuffed, then forced on to an Ice plane to Cairo, said one asylum seeker deported last week, who, like others, asked to remain anonymous to speak freely. They said their documents were confiscated and that, after a two-hour stopover in Egypt, local authorities ordered them to board a flight to Moscow. On arrival in Moscow, passengers were subjected to filtration: interrogations by Russia's federal security services. Those without criminal convictions were released."

"Among those deported on 27 August was Andrei Vovchenko, a 25-year-old former Russian serviceman who deserted his post in October 2022. He was wanted for desertion, according to an official defence ministry notice sent to his family. The charges against him carry a sentence of up to 10 years in prison. The Guardian was unable to reach Vovchenko, but witnesses who were on the same flight said he was detained immediately on arrival in Moscow."

US immigration authorities deported dozens of Russian asylum seekers to Moscow via at least two flights that left Immigration and Customs Enforcement's detention hub in Alexandria, Louisiana and stopped in Cairo, Egypt, where Egyptian authorities transferred passengers onto Moscow-bound flights. The first flight in mid-June carried about 30 Russian citizens; a flight on 27 August transported roughly 50 people. Deportees report being shackled, handcuffed, having documents confiscated, and experiencing a two-hour stopover in Egypt before being ordered onto flights to Moscow. On arrival, passengers underwent filtration and interrogations by Russia's federal security services; those wanted on charges, including a deserter, were detained. Exact totals remain unclear due to opaque deportation practices.

Read at www.theguardian.com