ECHR Rules Against Russia Extraditing Overstayed Syrian National

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) on Tuesday ruled that Russia cannot deport a Syrian national accused of illegally staying in the country, ordering the detainee's release.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The Syrian national, named S.K. in the ruling, overstayed a business visa in 2011 just as the war in Syria unfolded. He was detained in 2015, with a series of Russian courts finding him guilty of administrative offenses, rejecting his appeals, dismissing an asylum application and ruling in favor of his deportation to his home country.

"The Court concluded that S.K.’s removal from Russia to Syria, on the basis of the [Russian] judgment of 26 February 2015 as upheld on appeal, would be in breach of Articles 2 and 3 of the Convention [on Human Rights]," the judgment reads.

The European Convention on Human Rights second article protects a person's right to life, while the third article prohibits degrading treatment.

The ruling was made after Russia failed to provide evidence that the man would be safe upon returning to Damascus and proceeding to a different part of Syria. The court also noted that the situation in Syria had significantly deteriorated while S.K. stayed in Russia and even started a family.

The ECHR also ruled in favor of the Syrian's release as Russia had no secure legal procedure for disputing continued detention in the given case, thus contradicting the right to liberty stipulated by the European Convention on Human Rights.

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