Source: HRO.org (info), 19/04/12 

· European Court of Human Rights  · Refugees, migrants 

Russian human rights defenders and lawyers representing applicants at the European Court of Human Rights have sent a letter to the chair of the European Court of Human Rights, the Human Rights Commissioner of the Council of Europe, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, and the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe expressing concerns about the unprecedented succession of violations by the Russian authorities of the rules laid down by the European Court of Human Rights that stop the enforced return of applicants to countries where they may face serious risk of torture. 

According to the Rosbalt news agency, citing Moscow Helsinki Group, the human rights defenders in their letter referred to a number of cases. 

“In the cases of Savriddin Dzhuraev v Russia (№ 71386/10), Abdulkhakov v Russia (№14743/11), Koziev v Russia (№ 58221/10) and Zokhidov v Russia (58221/10) the applicants disappeared from Russian territory and subsequently were found to be held in detention centres in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan,” the letter states. 

The letter goes on: “The authorities of the Russian Federation have not made any attempt to put this situation right or to secure the return of the applicants who have been unlawfully handed over to the authorities in those states that have requested them. The measures taken by the Russian authorities of which they have informed the Court are completely ineffective and cannot protect anyone from possible abduction.”