ECtHR - Communicated cases

Date: 
Thursday, February 9, 2017

Abdulla and others v. Greece (no. 62732/16), communicated on 31 January 2017

On 31 January 2017, the European Court of Human Rights communicated the case Abdulla and others v. Greece (no. 62732/16), which relates to the precarious situation of a Syrian family after its arrival in Greece on 13 March 2016. The family (a 40 years old woman and her four underage children, one of them a pregnant 17 years old girl with the 10-month-old baby) was transferred to the camp of Giannitsa after a week in the island of Lesbos. The camp was overcrowded and offered poor sanitary conditions. After a near miscarriage, the applicants moved to Athens in the search for better conditions. They slept for over two weeks in a tent in front of the Skaramagas camp, without access to sanitary facilities since the camp was overcrowded. The applicants lived with the help of volunteers during this time. Taken to the hospital by volunteers, the applicant gave birth to a boy, who had sepsis due to the poor hygiene conditions faced by his mother during her pregnancy. After ten days in a hospital, the applicants were taken by volunteers to a school serving as a centre for refugees, also with inadequate conditions. In July, after leaving the school due to health concerns and sleeping for four days in front of a NGO, this organization placed the family in an apartment. Therefore, the applicants complain to the ECtHR that their living conditions amounted to a violation of Article 3 ECHR.

Based on an unofficial translation by the ELENA Weekly Legal Update.

Sadio v. Italy and two other applications (nos. 3571/17, 3610/17 and 3963/17), communicated on 2 February 2017

On 2 February 2017, the European Court of Human Rights communicated the case of Sadio et al v. Italy (nos. 3571/17, 3610/17 and 3963/17), which relates to the reception conditions of an adult man and four unaccompanied minors in the reception center of Cona.

Relying on Article 3 of the Convention, the first applicant complains that the conditions of his accommodation in the Cona reception center exposed him to inhuman and degrading treatment. He refers in particular to the overcrowding of the center, the lack of heating (the temperature in the dormitory was slightly above zero degrees) and the poor hygiene conditions. Under Article 3 of the Convention, the minor applicants complained that they had been subjected to inhuman and degrading treatment because of their placement in the center of Cona until 15 January 2016, the date of their transfer to other centers. Under Articles 3 and 8 of the Convention, the applicants also complain that there is no protection by the competent authorities with regard to their status as unaccompanied minors.

Based on an unofficial translation by the ELENA Weekly Legal Update.

Belkharoyev v. Ukraine (no. 63044/16), communicated on 7 February 2017

On 7 February 2017, the ECtHR communicated the case Belkharoyev v. Ukraine (no. 63044/16) concerning the possible extradition of a Russian national from Ukraine to Russia. The applicant, Mr. Belkharoyev, is an ethnical Ingush and a devoted Sunni Muslim. He claimed being threatened by officials of the Russian intelligence in 2012, when he left to Turkey, where the alleged persecution continued. In 2014, criminal proceedings were brought against him in Russia on the allegations that the applicant had been a member of rebel forces in Syria. On October 2015 the applicant was arrested in Kyiv and applied for asylum claiming that the charges against him were fabricated and constituted persecution on the ground of his religious views. His requests and appeals were denied by Ukrainian authorities, who placed him in detention and, later, under house arrest with an electronic tracking device. On 19 January 2017, the applicant disappeared. The government considers that the applicant absconded, while his lawyer believes he was abducted. The ECtHR requests the parties to provide further factual information on the applicant’s disappearance and whereabouts, and whether his extradition to Russia would breach Article 3 of the Convention.

A. v. Switzerland (no. 60342/16), communicated on 9 February 2017

The ECtHR communicated the case A. v. Switzerland (no. 60342/16) on 9 February 2017 regarding an Iranian national who converted to Christianity during his stay in Switzerland and had multiple requests for asylum rejected by the Swiss authorities. One of his asylum applications was denied on the belief that his conversion itself would not lead to ill-treatment based on the ‘discreet’ way the applicant practiced his faith and on credibility grounds. The applicant complains before the ECtHR that his removal to Iran would breach Articles 2 or 3 ECHR.



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Keywords: 
Inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
Material reception conditions
Persecution (acts of)
Persecution Grounds/Reasons
Reception conditions
Religion
Vulnerable person