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 10/07/2012, the European Asylum Support Office published its first country of origin information (COI) report. The report focuses on Taliban recruitment strategies in Afghanistan. It has also published a methodology guideline for future similar reports. Country of origin reports represent a crucial tool for the decision-making on asylum applications and their availability enhances harmonisation of asylum procedures in the EU.
The applicant is a Moroccan national who arrived illegally in France. He alleged that he had been tortured by the Moroccan secret services because of his support to the Sahrawi cause. He was placed in detention and, following an international arrest warrant from Morocco based on allegations of terrorism, he was imprisoned with a view to his extradition in 2009. The French authorities approved his extradition and the applicant's appeals were dismissed. In the meantime he had also applied for asylum, but his application was dismissed.
The Dutch Council of State has decided to refer a question for a preliminary ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union concerning the assessment of the credibility of asylum claims based on persecution on grounds of sexual orientation:
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has adopted two reports with the corresponding resolutions and recommendations to the Committee of Ministers concerning migration and asylum issues.
In November 2012 the Irish Supreme Court referred a question for a preliminary ruling to the CJEU in the case Nawaz v Minister for Justice Equality & Law Reform and others, asking directly about the compatibility of the Irish system with Directive 2004/83/EC:
The applicant, Akhmadzhon Niyazov, is an Uzbek national who was born in 1961 and, living in Russia since 2009, currently resides in Irkutsk. In March 2010, criminal proceedings were brought against him in Uzbekistan on suspicion of membership of “Wahhabism”, a religious organisation banned in Uzbekistan, and on 29 October 2010 he was arrested in Irkutsk with a view to his extradition.On 20 December 2010 the applicant lodged a request for refugee status in Russia with the Irkutsk FMS on the ground of fear of persecution because of his religious beliefs.
The Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights has published his first quarterly activity report for 2013, detailing his activities in the first three months of the year. It includes a section on the human rights of immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers.
Eurostat has published the asylum statistics for 2012 in the European Union. They reflect an increase of 30.000 in the total number of applications presented in the European Union with respect to 2011. Germany, France, Sweden, the United Kingdom and Belgium received 70% of these applications. Afghanistan remained the first country of origin, followed by Syria and Russia. 14% of first instance decisions taken in 2012 granted refugee status, 10 % subsidiary protection and 2% authorisation to stay for humanitarian reasons, making up 27% positive first instance decisions.
