K.Z. v. RUSSIA and 1 other application

 
Communicated on 30 January 2019
 
THIRD SECTION
Applications nos. 35960/18 and 42874/18
K.Z. against Russia
and Dalerdzhon Bozorovich BURIYEV against Russia
lodged on 31 July 2018 and 11 September 2018 respectively
STATEMENT OF FACTS
1. The applicants are Tajik nationals. They are represented by Ms D. Trenina, Ms E. Davidyan and Mr K. Zharinov, lawyers practising in Moscow. The particulars of the domestic proceedings and other relevant information are set out in the annexed table.
2. On various dates they were charged with religious and politically motivated crimes, their pre-trial detention was ordered in absentia, and international search warrants were issued by the Tajik authorities.
3. The Russian authorities arrested and detained the applicants. Subsequently they took final decisions to remove the applicants to Tajikistan, despite the claims that in the event of their removal from Russia they would face a real risk of treatment contrary to Article 3 of the Convention.
4. On 31 July and 11 September 2018 the applicants’ requests under Rule 39 of the Rules of Court were granted. It was indicated to the Russian Government that the applicants should not be deported to Tajikistan for the duration of the proceedings before the Court. In the case 35960/18 it was decided that the applicant’s identity would not be disclosed to the public (Rule 47 § 4), and that the application should be granted priority treatment (Rule 41) and confidentiality (Rule 33).
5. On 13 September 2018 the applicant in the case 42874/18 was deported to Tajikistan, the applicant in the case 35960/18 still resides in Russia.
COMPLAINTS
6. The applicant in the case 35960/18 complains that he would face a real risk of being subjected to treatment in breach of Article 3 of the Convention in the event of his removal to Tajikistan.
7. The applicant in the case 42874/18 complains that the Russian authorities exposed him to a real risk of being subjected to treatment in breach of Article 3 of the Convention by deporting him to Tajikistan. He further complains that his deportation has been in breach of the interim measure indicated by the Court, which resulted in a hindrance by the State of the effective exercise of the applicant’s right of application enshrined in Article 34 of the Convention.
QUESTIONS TO THE PARTIES
1. In the case no. 35960/18 would the applicant face a real risk of being subjected to treatment in breach of Article 3 of the Convention in the event of his removal to Tajikistan?
 
2. In the case no. 42874/18 did the Russian authorities expose the applicant to a real risk of being subjected to treatment in breach of Article 3 of the Convention by deporting him to Tajikistan? Was the applicant’s deportation in breach of an interim measure indicated by the Court? Has there been accordingly a hindrance by the State of the effective exercise of the applicant’s right of application enshrined in Article 34 of the Convention?

APPENDIX
 
No.
Application no.
Lodged on
Application title
Date of birth
 
Detention
Removal proceedings
Refugee status / Temporary asylum proceedings
Other relevant information
1.
35960/18
31/07/2018
K.Z. v. Russia
21/09/1975
 
Detention pending extradition
2 February 2018 - arrest
31 July 2018 - released due to expiry of the time-limit
Detention pending expulsion
31 July 2018 - arrest
1 August 2018 - released
n
Extradition proceedings
2 May 2017 - charged with extremist crimes by the Tajik authorities
26 June 2017 and 6 July 2017 - international search warrant issued and detention ordered in absentia by the Tajik authorities
8 February 2018 - extradition request by the Tajik authorities
Expulsion proceedings
1 August 2018 - administrative removal ordered by the Golovinskiy District Court of Moscow
14 December 2018 - upheld on appeal by the Moscow City Court, enforcement of the order suspended pending proceedings before the Court
 
Refugee status proceedings
14 February and 1 March 2018 - request for refugee status
10 July 2018 - refugee status refused by the Moscow migration authority
5 October 2018 - upheld by the Russian migration authority
Appealed to courts - proceedings pending
Temporary asylum proceedings
13 April 2018 - refugee status refused by the Sverdlovsk regional migration authority
 
31 July 2018 - interim measure preventing the applicant’s removal
2.
42874/18
11/09/2018
Buriyev v. Russia
16/09/1998
 
Detention pending extradition
4 October 2017 - arrested and detained
11 September 2018 - released by a prosecutor
Detention pending expulsion
12 -13 September 2018 - detention pending deportation
Extradition proceedings
April-July 2017 - charged with extremist crimes by the Tajik authorities, international search warrant issued and detention ordered in absentia
7 November 2017 - extradition request by the Tajik authorities
Expulsion proceedings
18 May 2018 – the applicant’s stay in Russia declared undesirable by the FSB, decision not served
9 June 2018 – deportation ordered by the migration authority of Sverdlovsk Region, decision not served
12 July 2018 - the applicant’s lawyer learned about the decision in parallel proceedings
19 July 2018 - appeal and request for national interim measures to the Meshchanskiy District Court of Moscow
26 July 2018 - appeal and request for national interim measures to the Verkh-Isetskiy District Court of Yekaterinburg
20 August 2018 - national interim measures refused by the Meshchanskiy District Court of Moscow
13 September 2018 - deported to Tajikistan
27 November 2018 - appeal against undesirability decision dismissed by the Moscow City Court
 
Refugee status proceedings
28 June 2018 - refused by the migration authority in the Sverdlovsk Region
20 August 2018 - refusal upheld by the Russian migration authority
Temporary asylum proceedings
3 July 2018 - refused by the migration authority in the Sverdlovsk Region
20 August 2018 - refusal upheld by the Russian migration authority
 
11 September 2018 - interim measure preventing the applicant’s removal
11 September 2018 - the applicant informed competent authorities of the interim measure
12 September 2018 - the applicant placed in temporary detention center for aliens and the ticket to Tajikistan was bought in his name
13 September 2018 - at 3:00 a.m. the applicant convoyed to Koltsovo airport in Yekaterinburg, his lawyer located him and informed the deporting officer of the interim measure, the officer refused to cease deportation, since he had not been officially notified of the measure
13 September 2018 - at 4:15 a.m. the applicant deported to Tajikistan, arrested and immediately detained after arrival
19 October 2018 - the Government submitted to the Court that they were notified of the interim measure late in the evening of 11 September 2018, relayed the information to the agencies on the federal level the next day, and due to processing time the local authorities could not have been aware of the measure the same day
20 November 2018 - the applicant’s handwritten note (in Russian) informing his representatives that he maintains his application
20 November 2018 - report of the applicant’s lawyer in Tajikistan stating that the applicant had been repeatedly ill-treated by the Tajik law-enforcement agents with the aim of extracting confession
5 December 2018 - the applicant found guilty and sentenced to 9 years’ imprisonment, according to the representatives he did not complain of ill-treatment out of fear of retaliation
 

Full & Egal Universal Law Academy