German court obliges Chechen refugee to return children to Russia

The court pronounced a decision, according to which Rashid Chataev, a native of Chechnya, should return to his former wife their two daughters taken by him to Germany. Rashid Chataev hopes that in Grozny, the court will pronounce an opposite decision and leave the children with him.

In total, former spouses Rashid Chataev and Tatiana Tretyakova have five common children. One of the daughters lives with her mother. According to Tatiana Tretyakova, the two daughters, mentioned in the court's decision, were abducted by Rashid Chataev in 2017 and first taken to Chechnya and then to Germany. The son and daughter, who are now 11 and 14 years old, have been living with Rashid Chataev since 2011. Tatiana Tretyakova also considers them abducted, but admits that she has no legal basis to seek the return of those children. "Under the Convention [on Human Rights], a complaint for the return of children can only be submitted within one year after the abduction," the woman said.

The German court made the decision to transfer the children to their mother in late November 2019, Tatiana Tretyakova reported. According to her, if Rashid Chataev refuses to execute the court's decision, he will face a six-month imprisonment and a fine of 25,000 euros, the "Russia Today" TV network reports on its website today, without specifying the exact date of the decision and the name of the court.

In turn, on November 13, Rashid Chataev, who was granted political asylum in Germany, appealed to a court in Grozny with a request to leave the children with him and oblige his former wife to pay him alimony. A court hearing in his case is scheduled for December 5.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on December 4, 2019 at 04:10 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.