18:52, 24 August 2004

Kabardino-Balkarian border guards detain Turkish citizen

Hajji Bayram Bolat, a Turkish citizen and ethnic Kabardinian deported in August 2003, arrived by air in Nalchik from Istanbul yesterday, August 23. His residential permit had been reinstated by a decision of a Nalchik court. Hajji Bolat is coming back to his historic homeland to settle in Kabardino-Balkaria forever.

Witnesses say Bolat was detained in Nalchik by people in mufti, who conveyed him to a border post. He is being kept their so far without being given any explanations. Hajji Bayram's lawyer reported this fact to the Nalchik prosecutor's office, but there has been no reaction.

Hajji Bayram had lived in Nalchik for eight years before he was deported last year. He had been a scientific secretary at the Turkic Academy of Sciences. His claim is being considered by the European Court of Human Rights. Iskhak Kuchukov, the lawyer protecting Hajji Bayram's interests, has received a letter from Strasbourg recently. The court asks what sum Bolat would like to get as compensation from Russian authorities for the violation of his rights.

Author: Lyudmila Maratova, CK correspondent

Source: Caucasian Knot