Gannushkina: many natives from Chechnya apply for asylum in Germany

German authorities have announced a sharp increase in the current year of the number of applications for political asylum filed by natives of Chechnya. Rights defenders see the reason for the increase in some unreliable rumours about facilitating the receipt of the refugee status in this country and the atmosphere of fear and discontent prevailing in their native republic.

According to the MIA of Germany, during the first six months of this year, applications for asylum were filed by 43,000 people, with 9957 applications arriving from Russia, mostly from natives from Chechnya.

"Today, an incredible number of Chechen nationals apply for asylum in Germany," Svetlana Gannushkina, the head of the human rights committee "Civil Assistance", told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent. "Two years ago I presented a report in Germany; and in 2010 they had 1000 people, of whom 400 received the asylum. It was 10 times less than now."

According to her story, "information was spread in Chechnya that allegedly Germany had prepared land for Chechens and waits for about 40,000 of them to come."

"I declare to you that it's not true," says Gannushkina.

"Another issue is why people so readily believe in these rumours. I was told that they hire a bus; sell their houses in whole streets; give all the money to these carriers, and leave. Why do people do it?" she asks.

 "The situation is terrible; there is no freedom of speech; people are afraid to talk about... The republic is under rampant cruelty; the Russian law is not working; and there is no place to complain. It's all because the Chechen authorities had been granted an absolute carte blanche for any human rights violations," Ms Gannushkina says.