FIFTH SECTION
DECISION
Application no. 60986/09
Farazan ABDUL ZAKIR and Others
against Ukraine
The European Court of Human Rights (Fifth Section), sitting on 21 November 2017 as a committee composed of:
Erik Møse, President,
Yonko Grozev,
Gabriele Kucsko-Stadlmayer, judges,
and Anne Marie Dougin, Acting Deputy Section Registrar,
Having regard to the above application lodged on 19 November 2009,
Having deliberated, decides as follows:
FACTS AND PROCEDURE
The applicants, whose names and year of birth are set out in the appendix, are Afghan nationals. They are relatives. The first applicant is the second applicant’s daughter. The third applicant is the second applicant’s nephew. The fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth applicants are the first applicant’s children. Before this Court, the applicants were represented by Mr A. Bushchenko, a lawyer practising in Kyiv.
The Ukrainian Government (“the Government”) were represented by their Agent, Mr I. Lishchyna, of the Ministry of Justice.
The applicants complained that their possible removal from Ukraine to Afghanistan would be contrary to Articles 2 and 3 of the Convention. In particular, they arrived in Ukraine on 17 November 2009 and applied for asylum stating that they feared persecution by the Taliban guerrillas for their own or their relatives’ contacts with and/or work for the Afghan government. On 27 November 2009 their applications were refused and, according to their lawyer, on 28 November 2009 the applicants were removed to the United Arab Emirates. No copy of either the applicants’ asylum applications or the Ukrainian authorities’ relevant decisions were submitted to the Court.
In the meantime, on 19 November 2009 the Court, having examined the applicants’ request for interim measures under Rule 39 of the Rules of Court, decided to indicate to the Government that the applicants should not be deported to Afghanistan until 26 November 2009. On the latter date the Court, having examined further information on the case submitted by the applicants and the Government, decided not to prolong the interim measure previously indicated on 19 November 2009.
According to the applicants’ lawyer, since 28 November 2009 he has lost contact with the applicants. In his submissions of 11 November 2014, the lawyer stated, without providing any further details or documents, that the applicants were in Afghanistan, but he had no contact with them.
THE LAW
The Court notes that since the applicants were removed from Ukraine to the United Arab Emirates their representative has lost contact with them. There is nothing to suggest that the applicants were further removed to Afghanistan or that, even assuming they were removed to that country, they have been precluded from maintaining contact with their representative, should they wish to do so.
The Court considers that, in these circumstances, the applicants may be regarded as no longer wishing to pursue their application, within the meaning of Article 37 § 1 (a) of the Convention. Furthermore, in accordance with Article 37 § 1 in fine, the Court finds no special circumstances regarding respect for human rights as defined in the Convention and its Protocols which require the continued examination of the case (see, as a recent authority, V.M. and Others v. Belgium [GC], no. 60125/11, §§ 35-36, 17 November 2016, and also Kebe and Others v. Ukraine, no. 12552/12, §§ 63-65, 12 January 2017).
For these reasons, the Court, unanimously,
Decides to strike the application out of its list of cases.
Done in English and notified in writing on 14 December 2017.
Anne-Marie DouginErik Møse
Acting Deputy RegistrarPresident
APPENDIX
1. Ms Farazan ABDUL ZAKIR born in 1976
2. Ms Najia HAJI MAHMOOD born in 1948
3. Mr Muhtar HAJI ABDUL RAZZAQ born in 1990
4. Mr Sadikula MOHAMMAD HASHIM born in 1994
5. Ms Hasina MOHAMMAD HASHIM born in 2000
6. Mr Aref MOHAMMAD HASHIM born in 2002
7. Ms Lima MOHAMMAD HASHIM born in 2003
8. Mr Ehsan MOHAMMAD HASHIM born in 2006
Full & Egal Universal Law Academy