S.A. v. BULGARIA
FIFTH SECTION
DECISION
Application no. 46517/18
S.A.
against Bulgaria
The European Court of Human Rights (Fifth Section), sitting on 6 June 2019 as a Committee composed of:
Ganna Yudkivska, President,
Yonko Grozev,
André Potocki, judges,
and Liv Tigerstedt, Acting Deputy Section Registrar,
Having regard to the above application lodged on 3 October 2018,
Having deliberated, decides as follows:
FACTS AND PROCEDURE
The applicant, S.A., an Afghan national born in 1975, was detained in the centre for foreigners in Bulgaria. The President granted the applicant’s request for his identity not to be disclosed to the public (Rule 47 § 4). The applicant was represented before the Court by Mr G.I. Voynov and Ms I. Savova, lawyers practising in Sofia.
The applicant complained under Articles 2 and 3 of the Convention that there was a real risk of him being ill-treated or killed if removed to Afghanistan, or to a third country which could not guarantee that he would not be sent to Afghanistan, as well as about the absence of an effective remedy in that connection.
Upon a request by the applicant, on 9 October 2018, the Court decided to apply an interim measure under Rule 39 of the Rules of Court, indicating to the Bulgarian Government (“the Government”) that the applicant should not be removed for the duration of the proceedings before the Court.
On 12 December 2018 the Court decided to give notice to the Government of the applicant’s complaints detailed above.
On 1 April 2019 the Government informed the Court that the applicant had died on 2 March 2019.
On 9 April 2019 the applicant’s representative, in reply to the Government’s submissions, informed the Court that he had been unable to establish contact with an heir or a close relative of the applicant who was willing to pursue the application. The representative stated that in the circumstances the proceedings in the case should be discontinued.
THE LAW
In the light of the foregoing, and in the absence of any special circumstances regarding respect for the rights guaranteed by the Convention and the Protocols thereto, the Court, in accordance with Article 37 § 1 (a) of the Convention, considers that it is no longer justified to continue the examination of the application.
Accordingly, it is appropriate to strike the case out of the list and to discontinue the application of Rule 39 of the Rules of Court.
For these reasons, the Court, unanimously,
Decides to strike the application out of its list of cases.
Done in English and notified in writing on 27 June 2019.
Liv TigerstedtGanna Yudkivska
Acting Deputy RegistrarPresident
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