Communicated on 9 February 2010
FIRST SECTION
Application no. 14594/07
Vaja BERDZENISHVILI against Russia
and 6 other applications
(see list appended)
STATEMENT OF FACTS
A. The background to the cases
1. During the period from the end of September 2006 to the end of January 2007 identity checks of Georgian nationals residing in Russia were carried out in the streets, markets and other workplaces and at their homes. Many were subsequently arrested and taken to police stations. After a period of custody in police stations, they were grouped together and taken by bus to a court, which summarily imposed administrative penalties on them and gave decisions ordering their administrative expulsion from Russian territory. Subsequently, after sometimes undergoing a medical visit and a blood test, they were taken to detention centres for foreigners where they were detained for varying periods of time, and then taken by bus to various airports in Moscow, and expelled to Georgia by aeroplane. Some of the Georgian nationals against whom expulsion orders were issued left the territory of the Russian Federation by their own means (for further details as to the background of the cases see Georgia v. Russia (I) [GC], no. 13255/07, § 45, ECHR 2014).
B. The particular circumstances of each case (arrest, and conditions of detention and expulsion of the applicants)
1. Vaja BERDZENISHVILI (born on 28 July 1976, application no. 14594/07)
a. Facts
2. Date of arrival in the Russian Federation: 1 June 2006
The applicant had a one-year visa and a six-month registration certificate and worked for a building company in Moscow.
Date of arrest: 4 October 2006
Length of detention:
- police station: 22 hours (from 4 p.m. on 4 October to 2 p.m. on 5 October 2006 – police department # 44 of Vikhino region) in a cell measuring 8 m2 with 12 detainees, no light, no fresh air and no food.
Date of expulsion decision: 5 October 2006 (Kuzminski Federal Regional Court)
Date of departure: the applicant left the Russian Federation by his own means on 8 October 2006.
b. Complaints
3. Violation of Articles 3, 5, 6 and 13 of the Convention, of Articles 2 and 4 of Protocol No. 4, of Article 1 of Protocol No. 7 and of Article 14 of the Convention taken together with all the above mentioned Articles.
2. Tengiz KBILASHVILI (born on 11 November 1964, application no. 14597/07)
a. Facts
4. Date of arrival in the Russian Federation: 12 August 2006
The applicant had a one-year visa and a registration certificate and worked as a driver for a company in Moscow. He had no work permit.
Date of arrest: 1 October 2006
Date of expulsion decision: 3 October 2006 (Chernushkinskovo Court of Moscow)
Length of detention:
- police station: from 1 to 3 October (Chernushkinskovo militia department), and then from 3 to 4 October 2006 (Kankova militia department) in a cell with 4 other detainees, no bed, no toilets, no light, no fresh air and no food.
- detention centre for aliens: from 4 to 6 October 2006, in a small cell measuring 5 by 6 m2 with 40 to 45 detainees, no bed, no chair and no separate toilets.
Date of expulsion: 6 October 2006 by cargo plane.
b. Complaints
5. Violation of Articles 3, 5, 6 and 13 of the Convention, of Articles 2 and 4 of Protocol No. 4, of Article 1 of Protocol No. 7 and of Article 14 of the Convention taken together with all the above-mentioned Articles.
3. Abram GIVISHVILI (born on 2 January 1964, application no. 14976/07)
a. Facts
6. Date of arrival in the Russian Federation: 6 October 2000 in the Saratov Region; there was no visa requirement at the material time. He has been married to a citizen of the Russian Federation since October 2001.
Date of arrest: 9 October 2006
Date of expulsion decision: 10 October 2006 (Arkadakskovo district Court of Saratov Region)
Length of detention:
- detention centre for aliens: one night in the Saratov isolation centre in cells measuring 10 m2 with 10 detainees, in appalling sanitary conditions, with no toilets, no light, no fresh air and no decent food. The car taking the applicant to the centre allegedly had an accident and the applicant, although injured, did not receive adequate medical treatment.
Date of departure: The applicant left the Russian Federation by his own means.
b. Complaints
7. Violation of Articles 3, 5, 6, 8 and 13 of the Convention, of Article 1 of Protocol No. 1, Article 4 of Protocol No. 4 and Article 1 of Protocol No. 7, and of Article 14 of the Convention taken in conjunction with all the above mentioned Articles.
4. Liana NACHKEBIA (born on 24 July 1948, application no. 14978/07)
a. Facts
8. Date of arrival in the Russian Federation: after the armed conflict in Abkhazia, Georgia (1993)
The applicant had arrived in the Russian Federation as an Internally Displaced Person/IDP from Abkhazia, Georgia; she was the owner of a market stand in Moscow.
Date of arrest: 4 October 2006 with 20 other Georgians at the market
Date of expulsion decision: 5 October 2006 (Nagatinskovo Court of Moscow)
Length of detention:
- police station: approximately 24 hours
- detention centre for aliens: detention centre for women for 12 days (from 5 to 17 October 2006) in inhuman and degrading conditions, appalling sanitary conditions, no drinking water or decent food, no sheets; she said she had been stripped of all her belongings.
Date of expulsion: 17 October 2006 by aeroplane.
b. Complaints
9. Violation of Articles 3, 5, 6 and 13 of the Convention and of Article 14 of the Convention taken in conjunction with all the above mentioned Articles.
5. Eka CHKAIDZE and David JAOSHVILI (born respectively on 1 December 1979 and on 12 February 1975, application no. 15221/07)
a. Facts
10. Date of arrival in the Russian Federation: 25 December 2002 in Moscow
The applicants had a visa and had extended their stay in the Russian Federation for health reasons beyond the date of expiry of the visa.
Date of arrest of their six-year-old son: not known. He had allegedly been illegally arrested and detained at the Ivanov District police station for 5 hours. The applicants had been made to pay money to obtain the release of their son.
Date of expulsion decision: 6 October 2006 (Ivanovski Regional Court of Moscow)
Date of expulsion: not known. The applicants had allegedly been taken to the airport and had then had to pay for their flight to Tbilisi themselves.
b. Complaints
11. Violation of Articles 3 and 5 of the Convention in respect of their six‑year‑old son. Violation of Articles 6 and 13 of the Convention, of Article 1 of Protocol No. 1, Article 4 of Protocol No. 4 and Article 1 of Protocol No. 7, and of Article 14 of the Convention taken in conjunction with all the above mentioned Articles.
6. TWELVE APPLICANTS (application no. 16369/07)
a. Facts
a. Irina CHOKHELI, Levan KOBAIDZE and Koba KOBAIDZE (born respectively on 29 August 1967, on 8 April 1986 and on 7 October 1988)
12. Date of arrival in the Russian Federation: the first applicant (Irina Chokheli) had been going to Russia every summer since 2005. Since that year her husband, and her two sons (Levan and Koba Kobaidze) who are also applicants, had been permanently resident in the Russian Federation, in Moscow. They are IDPs from Abkhazia, Georgia. The first applicant had a valid visa but an invalid registration certificate (issued by a private agency, of which there were many in Moscow); the second applicant (Levan Kobaidze) had a valid visa and registration certificate and worked in a baker’s shop; the third applicant (Koba Kobaidze) had an official document authorising him to stay in the Russian Federation and worked as a security officer in a supermarket.
The first applicant (Irina Chokheli)
Date of arrest: 11 October 2006
Date of expulsion decision: 12 October 2006 (Kuzminski District Court (Moscow))
Length of detention:
- police station: over 24 hours (from 10/11 a.m. on 11 October until approximately 1 p.m. on 12 October) at Vikhino police station (Moscow) – subsequently, after being heard by a judge, returned to the police station where she remained until the following day. Overcrowded and very dirty cell, “monkey cage”, the applicant was the only woman among many men, no window or fresh air, no bed, only 2 benches, no food or drinking water. She was running a high temperature, but was not given medical treatment and had no access to a lawyer.
- detention centre for aliens: from 13 to 17 October 2006 in a detention centre for women at Butyrskaia Prison in the centre of Moscow in a cell with 7 other women, in appalling conditions. Very small cell, only one set of bunk beds and very thin mattresses, no water, no blanket, no toilets (just a bucket).
Date of expulsion: 17 October 2006 by aeroplane.
The second and third applicants (Levan and Koba Kobaidze)
Date of arrest: 11 October 2006
Date of expulsion decision: 12 October 2006 (Kuzminski District Court (Moscow))
Length of detention:
- police station: over 24 hours (from about 10/11 a.m. on 11 October until about 1 p.m. on 12 October) at Vikhino police station (Moscow) – subsequently returned to the police station, where they stayed until 7 p.m. Overcrowded and very dirty cell, “monkey cage”, no window or fresh air, no bed, only 2 benches, no food or drinking water.
- detention centre for aliens: from 12 to 29 October in a detention centre for men (Dimitrovskoe highway N 82), the first night they were placed in a cell with 70 other people – the cell was dirty and stank, as the toilets were not separated from the rest of the cell, and there were an insufficient number of beds; they were subsequently placed in another cell, which was not overcrowded but also stank on account of the toilets not being separated from the rest of the cell.
Date of expulsion: 28 October 2006 by aeroplane.
b. Nato SHAVSHISHVILI (born on 18 March 1956)
13. Date of arrival in the Russian Federation: 2005
The applicant had a valid visa and registration certificate and worked in a café in Moscow.
Date of arrest: 28-30 September 2006
Date of expulsion decision: not known. No court hearing
Length of detention:
- police station: 4 days, 5-6 m2 cell with 5 other Georgians, appalling detention conditions, similar to those described above in other police stations. On the 4th day she had a stroke, was semi-paralysed and was released.
Date of departure: 18 October 2006. The applicant left the Russian Federation by her own means with her 18-year-old son.
c. David LATSABIDZE (born on 15 March 1961)
14. Date of arrival in the Russian Federation: 1992 in Moscow
The applicant had a valid visa and registration certificate and worked as an engineer.
Date of arrest: 10 October 2006 - the police officers ripped up the registration cards and confiscated the applicant’s passport; one of them drafted a protocol about an alleged false registration in his passport, which he refused to sign.
Date of expulsion decision: 10 October 2006 (a Moscow district court)
Length of detention:
- police station: he was taken there with 12 other Georgians and interrogated for an hour and a half
- detention centre for aliens: (Serpokhova) cell with 7 others, appalling detention conditions, similar to those described above in other detention centres for aliens. No access to a lawyer.
Date of expulsion: 17 October 2006 by aeroplane.
d. Artur SARKISIAN and Andrei SARKISIAN (born respectively on 23 February 1981 and on 12 November 1982)
15. Date of arrival of the two brothers in the Russian Federation: 1993
The first applicant (Artur Sarkisian) had a visa, and a valid registration certificate and work permit; he worked as the manager of a private company in Moscow; the second applicant (Andrei Sarkisian) had a valid visa and registration certificate.
Date of arrest: 2 October 2006 – the police officers ripped up the registration cards and confiscated the applicants’ passports.
Date of expulsion decision: not known. No court hearing
Length of detention:
- police station: (Shukina district of Moscow) interrogated for 2 hours
- detention centre for aliens: (special detention centre of Khoroshevo‑Mnevniki) shared 20-25 m2 cell with 25 to 30 others, appalling detention conditions, similar to those described above in other detention centres for aliens.
Date of departure: 19 October 2006 by aeroplane, they left the Russian Federation by their own means, their mother having bought their plane ticket.
e. Gocha KHMALADZE (born on 17 December 1968)
16. Date of arrival in the Russian Federation: 2001
The applicant had a visa, a registration certificate valid until 18 September 2006 and a work permit, and worked as a bus driver in Moscow.
Date of arrest: 10 October 2006 with 10 to 15 Georgians – the police officers confiscated the applicant’s passport and ordered the Georgians to sign the documents without giving them the opportunity to read the documents and without any explanation as to their content.
Date of expulsion decision: 11 October 2006
Length of detention:
- police station: (Vikhino District, Moscow) from about noon on 9 October until about 2 to 3 p.m. on 11 October, “monkey cage”, 6 m2 cell accommodating 16 people, appalling detention conditions, similar to those described above in other police stations.
- detention centre for aliens: (Dimitrovskoe Chaussee) from 11 October until 28 October - on 14 October he allegedly attempted to commit suicide so that he could telephone his father and have access to a lawyer. He also started a hunger strike, which he was forced to suspend. Appalling detention conditions, similar to those described above in other detention centres for aliens.
Date of expulsion: 28 October 2006 by aeroplane.
f. Irina KALANDIA (born on 18 January 1980)
17. Date of arrival in the Russian Federation: 1997 in Moscow
The applicant is an IDP from Abkhazia, Georgia, had a valid visa and registration certificate, but no work permit, and formerly worked in a grocery store in Moscow while continuing her studies.
Date of arrest: 6 October 2006 – the police officers confiscated the applicant’s passport and ordered her to sign documents without having the opportunity to read them.
Date of expulsion decision: 6 October 2006 (Semionovski District Court of Moscow) – she was forced to sign the court decision without reading it
Length of detention:
- police station: over 5 hours, without food or water
- detention centre for aliens: (near Butirskaya Prison) 3 days with 7 other women, appalling detention conditions, similar to those described above in other detention centres for aliens.
Date of expulsion: 10 October 2006 by aeroplane.
g. Kakha TSIHISTAVI (born on 24 February 1983)
18. Date of arrival in the Russian Federation: 2005 in Moscow
The applicant had a valid visa and registration certificate.
Date of arrest: 3 October 2006
Date of expulsion decision: 6 October 2006 (Kuntsevski District Court of Moscow)
Length of detention:
- police station: (Majaiskoe road) 2 days, “monkey cage”, appalling detention conditions, similar to those described above in other police stations.
- detention centre for aliens: (Moscow) 4 days, appalling detention conditions, similar to those described above in other detention centres for aliens. The applicant was forced to sign the court decision.
Date of departure: 11 October 2006 by aeroplane, the applicant left the Russian Federation by his own means, his family having bought his air ticket.
h. Koba NORAKIDZE (born on 17 April 1969)
19. Dates of arrival in the Russian Federation:
The applicant is an IDP from Abkhazia, Georgia, had arrived in Moscow for the first time in February 2002 and had worked since then as a driver for a company in Moscow. He had had a residence permit since 6 October 2003 as well as a work permit, and had then gone to Georgia to undergo an operation. After obtaining a new passport, he had returned to the Russian Federation on 4 March 2006 on a one-month visa.
Dates of arrest:
4 October 2006: the applicant indicates that he was arrested and beaten by police officers before being placed in the Moscow Litkarino district police station for one night.
On 6 October 2006 he was imprisoned in the special detention centre of the Lubedtsi District of Moscow.
On 6 and 7 October 2006, hearing before the Litkarino District Court. The applicant spent a second night in the police station before being released on 7 October 2006. The Court terminated the case as no administrative violation was found.
Two weeks later he was allegedly brutally re-arrested and placed in another police station where he was forced to sign a confession that he did not have a valid registration certificate.
Date of expulsion decision: not known.
The applicant was given a copy of the decision of the Litkarino District Court (Moscow), ordering a fine and his expulsion for violation of Article 18.8 of the Code on Administrative Offences.
Length of detention:
- police station: after his first arrest on 4 October 2006, 2 nights in a police station (Litkarino District); after his second arrest two weeks later, 2 days in another police station. Appalling detention conditions, similar to those described above in other police stations.
- detention centre for aliens: on 6 October 2006, from 4 to 9 a.m., imprisonment in the special detention centre of the Lubebtsi District of Moscow; small cell with 8 other people, including 4 Georgians. Appalling detention conditions, similar to those described above in other detention centres for aliens.
Date of departure: 24 October 2006, he left the Russian Federation by his own means as the police officers had sold his car to pay for his air ticket.
i. Khatuna DZADZAMIA (born on 27 January 1983)
20. Dates of arrival in the Russian Federation: in 1993 and then again in October 2004, after having been expelled to Georgia in 2004 because her visa had expired. In 2004 she received a study invitation from the university and then obtained a new visa from the Russian Embassy in Georgia to enter the Russian Federation.
The applicant is an IDP from Abkhazia, Georgia; she studied at the Institute of Foreign Languages in Moscow and was in her fifth and final year in September 2006. At that time she had a valid visa (until 8 October 2006) and registration certificate (until 30 September 2006, which had been prolonged until 28 February 2007).
Dates of arrest:
On 8 October 2006 the applicant was summoned to the Passports Department in Presninski (Moscow), and then summoned again on 10 October 2006. She took her birth certificate to prove that she was an IDP from Abkhazia; she was told that her parents were IDPs, but she was not.
Date of expulsion decision: 10 October 2006 (Presninski District Court, Moscow)
Length of detention:
- police station: (Presninski District) several hours on 10 October 2006, then the night of 10 to 11 October 2006. Appalling conditions of detention, similar to those described above in other police stations.
- detention centre for aliens: from 11 to 17 October 2006 in the detention centre for women near Butirskaya Prison. Appalling detention conditions, similar to those described above in other detention centres for aliens.
Date of expulsion: 17 October 2006 by aeroplane.
b. Complaints of all twelve applicants
21. Violation of Articles 3 and 5 of the Convention, of Article 4 of Protocol No. 4 and Article 1 of Protocol No. 7, of Articles 13 and 14 of the Convention taken in conjunction with Article 3, Article 5, Article 4 of Protocol No. 4 and Article 1 of Protocol No.7, and of Articles 17 and 18 of the Convention taken in conjunction with Article 5 and Article 1 of Protocol No. 7.
7. Inga GIGASHVILI (born on 29 September 1969, application no. 16706/07)
a. Facts
22. Date of arrival in the Russian Federation: 12 August 2006, with her husband Tengiz Kbilashvili (see above, application no. 14597/07) – the applicant had a one-year visa and an invalid registration certificate (issued by a private agency of which there were many in Moscow).
Date of arrest: 7 October 2006, the applicant went to the Passport Department after her husband had been expelled – her passport was confiscated.
Date of expulsion decision: 11 October 2006 (Tverskovo District Court of Moscow)
Length of detention:
- police station: several hours.
- detention centre for aliens: 10 days from 7 to 17 October 2006. Appalling detention conditions, similar to those descried above in other detention centres for aliens.
Date of expulsion: 17 October 2006 by aeroplane.
b. Complaints
23. Violation of Articles 3, 5, 6 and 13 of the Convention, of Article 2 of Protocol no 4, Article 4 of Protocol no 4, Article 1 of Protocol no 7, and of Article 14 of the Convention taken in conjunction with all the above mentioned Articles.
QUESTIONS TO THE PARTIES
1. Did the detention conditions of the applicants listed in the Appendix (application no. 15221/07 concerns the detention conditions of the applicants’ son) amount to a violation of Article 3 of the Convention? Has there been a violation of Article 13 of the Convention taken in conjunction with Article 3?
2. Did the arrest and the detention of the applicants listed in the Appendix (application no. 15221/07 concerns the arrest and detention of the applicants’ son) amount to a violation of Article 5 § 1 of the Convention? Has there been a violation of Article 13 of the Convention taken in conjunction with Article 5 § 1?
3. Were the applicants listed in the Appendix expelled as part of a collective measure, in breach of Article 4 of Protocol No. 4?
4. Have the applicants listed in the Appendix suffered discrimination in the enjoyment of their Convention rights on the ground of their ethnic or national origin, contrary to Article 14 of the Convention read in conjunction with Articles 3 and 5 § 1 of the Convention and with Article 4 of Protocol no 4?
5. Has there been a violation of Article 13 of the Convention taken in conjunction with Article 4 of Protocol No. 4, in respect of the applicants listed in application no. 16369/07?
6. Did the decisions to expel the applicants (application no. 14594/07: V. Berdzenishvili - application no. 14976/07: A. Givishvili - application no. 16369/07: L. and K. Kobaidze, N. Shavshishvili, D. Latsabidze, A. and A. Sarkisian, K. Tsihistavi, K. Norakidze and K. Dzadzamia) comply with the procedural requirements of Article 1 § 1 of Protocol No. 7? Were the decisions to expel the applicants necessary within the meaning of Article 1 § 2 of Protocol No. 7? Has there been a violation of Article 13 of the Convention taken in conjunction with Article 1 of Protocol No. 7?
7. Were the applicants listed in application no. 16369/07 deprived of their liberty and expelled for a purpose other than those mentioned in Article 5 § 1 of the Convention and in Article 1 of Protocol no. 7 respectively? Accordingly, has there been a violation of Article 18 of the Convention taken in conjunction with Article 5 § 1 and with Article 1 of Protocol no. 7?
Appendix
List of applicants
No.
Application no.
Lodged on
Applicant
Date of birth
Place of residence
Represented by
14594/07
02/04/2007
Vaja BERDZENISHVILI
28/07/1976
Kareli
Nikoloz LEGASHVILI
14597/07
30/03/2007
Tengiz KBILASHVILI
11/11/1964
Bagdady
Nikoloz LEGASHVILI
14976/07
05/04/2007
Abram GIVISHVILI
02/01/1964
Tbilisi
Nikoloz LEGASHVILI
14978/07
04/04/2007
Liana NACHKEBIA
24/07/1948
Tbilisi
Nikoloz LEGASHVILI
15221/07
05/04/2007
Eka CHKAIDZE
01/12/1979
Tbilisi
David JAOSHVILI
12/02/1975
Tbilisi
Nikoloz LEGASHVILI
16369/07
06/04/2007
a) Irina CHOKHELI
29/08/1967
Tblisi
Levan KOBAIDZE
08/04/1986
Tbilisi
Koba KOBAIDZE
07/10/1988
Tbilisi
b) Nato SHAVSHISHVILI
18/03/1956
Tbilisi
c) David LATSABIDZE
15/03/1961
Rustavi
d) Artur SARKISIAN
23/02/1981
Tbilisi
Andrei SARKISIAN
12/11/1982
Tbilisi
e) Gocha KHMALADZE
17/12/1968
Tbilisi
f) Irina KALANDIA
18/01/1980
Zugdidi
g) Kakha TSIKHISTAVI
24/02/1983
Telavi
h) Koba NORAKIDZE
17/04/1969
Tbilisi
i) Khatuna DZADZAMIA
27/01/1983
Gulripshi
Sophio JAPARIDZE
Philip LEACH and
Bill BOWRING (EHRAC)
16706/07
10/04/2007
Inga GIGASHVILI
29/09/1969
Bagdady
Nikoloz LEGASHVILI
Full & Egal Universal Law Academy