ECtHR judgment in Sidikovy v. Russia (no. 73455/11) [Articles 3 and 5 ECHR]

The applicants are a married couple of Tajikistani nationality who live in Moscow. Mr. Sidikov was arrested in 2010 and placed in detention pending his extradition to Tajikistan, where he was wanted for charges related to his activity for the Islamic organisation Hizb ut-Tahrir. His extradition was ordered and upheld by courts, but it was not enforced in view of the application for temporary asylum that he lodged in December 2011, which was accepted in August 2012 and grants him protection for one year. Ms. Sidikova was arrested in May 2011 also following an extradition request from Tajikistan, but the Russian authorities did not agree to it. She was released and an asylum application she lodged is still pending. Before the Court, Mr. Sidikov complained that his extradition to Tajikistan would expose him to a real risk of torture and ill treatment. The Court found a violation of Article 3 if Mr. Sidikov were extradited, as it considered that the human rights situation in Tajikistan, in particular with respect to torture, was disquieting and that there were serious reasons to believe that members and supporters of Hizb ut-Tahrir were persecuted there. Other complaints formulated under Article 5 were dismissed.

Read the full text of the judgment on the website of the European Court of Human Rights.

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