The applicant, Mr. K., is a Russian national of Chechen origin who lives in Vienna. After the killing of his father and after having suffered arrests and beatings by Russian soldiers himself, he arrived in Austria together with his mother in 2004 and requested asylum. Their claims were rejected. However, on appeal his mother was recognized as a refugee.
From now on, asylum seekers awaiting a decision on their application in Greece might be detained for up to 18 months. The provisions governing the maximum length of time by which asylum seekers' detention can be extended have recently been changed.
In its latest position paper, the Red Cross EU office has released a position paper calling on the EU and its member states to ensure that asylum seekers have safe and effective legal avenues to the EU territory to exercise their right to international protection. The paper puts forward nine recommendations aimed at ensuring access to asylum procedures, particularly by respecting refugee and human rights standards at the borders, not penalising the irregular entry of asylum seekers and ensuring an effective right of appeal against denial of entry.
The applicant, Seydmajed Ahmade, is an Afghan national who lives in Athens (Greece). Mr Ahmade arrived in Greece on 23 December 2007. He was arrested several times between then and 11 August 2008 and each time various removal decisions were taken against him. Following a fight, the applicant was arrested again on 27 August 2009. His removal was ordered once again and he was held at the police station on the ground that he posed a threat to public order and was likely to abscond on account of the criminal proceedings against him concerning the fight.
The applicant, Makhmudzhan Ergashev, is a Kyrgyzstani national who has been living in St Petersburg (Russia) since July 2006. He is an ethnic Uzbek and lived in the southern part of Kyrgyzstan before he left for Russia. In 2007, criminal proceedings were brought against Mr Ergashev in Kyrgyzstan on suspicion of embezzlement of State funds, allegedly committed in 2006-07. He was charged in absentia, declared a wanted person and an order for him to be remanded in custody was issued. In August 2010, he was arrested in Russia and detained with a view to his extradition.
(Area of freedom, security and justice - Directive 2008/115/EC - Common standards and procedures for returning illegally staying third-country nationals - Applicability to asylum seekers - Possibility of keeping a third-country national in detention after an application for asylum has been made)
The United Nations Human Rights Council adopted during its 22nd session its first resolution dealing with redress and rehabilitation of victims of torture. The resolution reminds states of their international obligations with respect to the prohibition of torture. These include the provision of redress to victims, among others in the form of rehabilitation.
A reference for a preliminary ruling concerning the impact Article 41 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights on return decisions was published this week by the CJEU. It was lodged on 3 April 2013 by the Tribunal administratif de Melun (France) and the questions read as follows:
During its meeting on 6-7 December the Council confirmed the political agreement on the Dublin Regulation and was informed about the state-of-play of the outstanding legislative proposals concerning the Common European Asylum System:
The European Commission will be presenting its Smart Borders package to the upcoming Justice and Home Affairs Council of 7-8 March. The package includes three proposals for regulations:
