By Sarah Kolinovsky

After years of documenting war crimes in Chechnya, one Czech journalist turned lawmaker is slamming his country for denying asylum to a Georgian political refugee who he says will be a target for murder if he returns to his country.

In what experts say is an extraordinary move to call attention to the plight of asylum seekers, Czech Senator Jaromir Stetina publicized his support at a press conference earlier this week.

Timur Borchashvili, a Georgian refugee who claims he was an aide to former Chechen president Aslan Maskhadov, was denied asylum by the Ministry of Interior and was supposed to have left the Czech Republic February 7.

But in what the Czech Ministry of Interior calls a “strange” political move, Senator Stetina defied the law of his own nation and publicly protected Borchashvili, effectively helping the refugee to stay in the Czech Republic.

The senator has a personal connection to the refugee—he spent several years in Chechnya documenting crimes committed against Chechen civilians as a journalist.

During the press conference, Stetina presented evidence, including photographs and government documents, to the Czech Interior Ministry proving that Borchashvili was affiliated with an opposition party in Chechnya.

According to Stetina’s press statement, Borchashvili fled Chechnya in fear of the “the gunmen of the puppet Chechen President Kadyrov.” Stetina believes Borchashvili would be a target for murder under Kadyrov’s government because Kadyrov opposes the separatist rebel activity led by politicians like Borchashvili’s old boss, the former president Maskhadov.

And though Stetina has succeeded in getting noticed, there is no certainty that the senator’s efforts will actually help Borchashvili receive asylum.

“Something like this has never happened before,” said Ministry of Interior representative Vladimir Repka, referring to a politician’s interference with an asylum decision.

Stetina’s press conference came a few days after Russian human rights activists reported the murder of at least four young Chechen civilians who were shot and stabbed by Russian soldiers, according to Radio Free Europe.

Though the Czech Republic is a member of the EU, which has regulated asylum policies that do not discriminate refugees from any particular nation, Stetina maintains that his nation needs to do more for refugees.

“In 1968, when the Soviet army occupied Czechoslovakia, thousands of Czechs got asylum in other countries, and now we’re not able to give asylum to 10 or 15 more people? Why?” Stetina asked.

Despite Stetina’s stand, the Ministry of Interior may not amend their decision, according to Magda Faltova, director and legal counselor for the Association for Integration and Migration Counseling Center for Refugees.

Faltova explained that when asylum is denied, the applicant can appeal the decisions. Appeal cases, like Borchashvili’s, go to a court. However, courts cannot change the decision, but only send the case back to the Ministry for further review. It’s just another frustrating aspect of the asylum system in the Czech Republic, according to Faltova.

“There aren’t many positive decisions,” she said. “I’d like to see more positive asylum decisions.” Faltova explained that Czech authorities require authorities in any refugee’s country of origin to provide evidence of harassment or mistreatment that often doesn’t exist or is impossible to document.

Those requirements explain why so few people are given asylum in the Czech Republic, said Petra Tesarova, a lawyer for The Organization For Aid to Refugees, located in Prague. According to Tesarova, 24 Chechen refugees applied for asylum in 2009. A total of 75 people were granted asylum from all nations combined.

Despite criticism from refugee aid organizations, the Ministry of Interior insists that reviews of asylum cases are fair.

“All applications are objectively, rightly, carefully and professionally considered,” said Repka. “They are considered with all the respect to the relevant national, European and international law on human rights.”

Sarah Kolinovsky is a junior studying journalism and history. This piece was written for the International Reporting class.