Refugees in Russia: Is there a light at the end of the tunnel?

11 March 2013 Elena Ryabinina Source: HRO.org Refugees, migrants On 10 March, 2013, the Human Rights Institute sent an open letter to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) regarding the urgent need to expedite the review procedure for applicants seeking international protection [see below]. The letter came as a response to the problem that many asylum seekers in Russia—particularly refugees from Uzbekistan and Tajikistan—remain under threat of abduction or unsanctioned return to their countries of origin, where they had been persecuted for political and/or religious reasons. This problem has significantly worsened over the last one and a half years. [Read more]