Rakhmonov v. Russia (no. 50031/11) [Articles 2, 5 § 1,4 ECHR]

The applicant, Abdusami Rakhmonov, is an Uzbekistani national who was born in 1974 and has been living in Moscow since July 2010. In September 2010, a court in Uzbekistan ordered his arrest pending a criminal investigation against him. In February 2011, he was arrested in Moscow and placed in detention with a view to his extradition to Uzbekistan. In August 2011, the Russian Prosecutor General rejected the request for his extradition. An order for his administrative expulsion was quashed by the courts in September 2011. On 18 October 2010 the applicant lodged a request with the Moscow Division of the Federal Migration Service (the FMS) seeking refugee status in Russia. On 21 January 2011 the FMS refused to grant refugee status to the applicant. The applicant appealed. On 6 July 2011 the FMS refused by a de novo decision to grant the applicant refugee status. The applicant appealed. It appears that the appeal proceedings are still pending.
Relying in particular on Article 5 § 1 (right to liberty and security), he complained that his placement in detention pending extradition in February 2011 and the extension of that detention in March 2011 had been unlawful. Furthermore, relying on Article 5 § 4 (right to have lawfulness of detention decided speedily by a court), he complained that he had been unable to obtain a speedy review of his detention pending extradition.

The Court found:

-Violation of Article 5 § 1 (on account of the applicant’s detention from 4 February to 24 March 2011)
- Violation of Article 5 § 4 (lack of a speedy review of the detention)
- The Court also awarded just satisfaction: EUR 1,000 (non-pecuniary damage)

For the full text of the judgment please visit: ECtHR: Rakhmonov v. Russia (no. 50031/11)

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