Religion – Weltanschauung – Recht [ RWR ]

The applicant, Fayzullo Egamberdiyev, is a national of Uzbekistan who was born in 1975 and is currently in custody in the Omsk Centre for Social Adaptation. The case concerned proceedings for his removal from Russia to Uzbekistan.

Having arrived in Russia in November 2008, Mr Egamberdiyev was arrested in Omsk on 22 February 2013 and charged with using a false passport and illegally crossing the Russian border. Subsequently he was placed in detention pending extradition, as he was wanted by the Uzbek authorities on suspicion of being a member of an extremist religious organisation (Nurchilar). The custodial preventive measure against him was lifted on 23 May 2013 but he remained in detention until 6 June 2013 when he was transferred to police custody pending criminal proceedings brought against him on the false passport charges. He was found guilty in those proceedings on 17 September 2013 and, sentenced to a fine, was released.

In September 2013, he was re-arrested on the basis of an expulsion order against him issued on 23 May 2013 and placed in custody pending expulsion where he remains to this day. His removal has been suspended on the basis of an interim measure granted by the European Court of Human Rights on 31 May 2013 under Rule 39 of its Rules of Court, which indicated to the Russian Government that he should not be removed pending the current proceedings before the Court.

Mr Egamberdiyev’s application for refugee status, alleging a risk of persecution on religious grounds, was rejected by the migration service in September 2013.

Relying in particular on Article 3 (prohibition of torture and of inhuman or degrading treatment), Mr Egamberdiyev alleged that, if returned to Uzbekistan, he would face a real risk of torture and ill-treatment. He also alleged under Article 5 § 1 (f) (right to liberty and security) that his detention pending administrative removal after 23 May 2013 had been unlawful, claiming that the real purpose of the expulsion proceedings had been to keep him in custody pending the outcome of the extradition proceedings.

• Violation of Article 3 – in the event of Mr Egamberdiyev’s forced return to Uzbekistan
• Violation of Article 5 § 1 (f) – in respect of Mr Egamberdiyev’s detention in the framework of the expulsion proceedings
• Interim measure (Rule 39 of the Rules of Court) – not to remove Mr Egamberdiyev – still in force until judgment becomes final or until further order
• Just satisfaction: € 7,500 (non-pecuniary damage) and € 5,000 (costs and expenses)

Press release ECHR 184 (2014) 26/06/2014