M.A. v Estonia: Uzbek national’s deportation to Russia struck out of the list due to unlawful return order

Date: 
Thursday, December 19, 2019

On 19 December 2019, the European Court of Human Rights published its decision to strike the case of M.A. v Estonia out of the list. The case concerned an Uzbekistan national’s deportation from Estonia to Russia which according to him would subject him to the risk of ill-treatment, contrary to Article 3 of the Convention, if Russia were to transfer him back to Uzbekistan. It further concerned the alleged lack of effectiveness of the domestic remedies with regard to the applicant’s complaint under Article 3.

The Court decided that the expulsion decision was unlawful, as the authorities had not indicated the State to where the applicant would be expelled, but concluded that this could only be Russia. The authorities had not properly considered whether expulsion to Russia carried a further risk of return to Uzbekistan. Notwithstanding this, the Court decided that in the absence of an enforceable return decision, and because the applicant had since left Estonia of his own accord, there was no risk of treatment contrary to Article 3 and no need to examine the application further.


This item was reproduced with the permission of ECRE from the ELENA Weekly Legal Update. The purpose of these updates is to inform asylum lawyers and legal organizations supporting asylum seekers and refugees of recent developments in the field of asylum law. Please note that the information provided is taken from publicly available information on the internet. Every reasonable effort is made to make the content accurate and up to date at the time each item is pusexblished but no responsibility for its accuracy and correctness, or for any consequences of relying on it, is assumed by ECRE.

 
Keywords: 
Inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
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