FIRST SECTION
DECISION
Application no. 30943/20
D.S.
against Russia
The European Court of Human Rights (First Section), sitting on 31 May 2022 as a Committee composed of:
Krzysztof Wojtyczek, President,
Erik Wennerström,
Tim Eicke, judges,
and Liv Tigerstedt, Deputy Section Registrar,
Having regard to the above application lodged on 24 July 2020,
Having deliberated, decides as follows:
SUBJECT-MATTER OF THE CASE
1. The applicant, Mr D.S., is a Turkmen national, who was born in 1980 and lives in Krasnodar, Russia. The President granted the applicant anonymity ex officio (Rule 47 § 4 of the Rules of Court). He was represented before the Court by Mr A. Ghazanyan, a lawyer practising in Yerevan, Armenia.
2. The Russian Government (“the Government”) were initially represented by Mr M. Galperin, former Representative of the Russian Federation to the European Court of Human Rights, and later by his successor, Mr M. Vinogradov.
3. After fleeing Turkmenistan the applicant obtained refugee status in Armenia in 2019. He was arrested in Crimea on 30 June 2020. After confirming that he was sought by the authorities in Turkmenistan, the police placed him in detention on 2 July 2020 pending the official extradition request.
4. On 28 July 2020 the Court granted the applicant’s request for an interim measure under Rule 39 of the Rules of the Court in respect of his extradition. It was indicated to the Russian Government that he should not be removed to Turkmenistan until his application has been decided. The application was granted priority in accordance with Rule 41 of the Rules of Court.
5. The applicant was released on 29 July 2020 as the statutory period of detention had expired and no extradition request had been received from the Turkmen authorities.
6. The applicant complained under Article 3 of the Convention that he would face a real risk of ill-treatment if extradited to Turkmenistan and further complained under Article 13 of the Convention that he had no effective remedy to complain against the alleged violation of Article 3.
7. Following communication of the application to the Government, in their observations the Government stated that on 10 September 2020 an extradition request had been received from the Prosecutor General’s Office of Turkmenistan; however, the applicant’s extradition check had not been completed and no final decision had yet been taken. In his observations the applicant did not contest the Government’s statements.
THE COURT’S ASSESSMENT
8. In view of the information submitted by the parties, it appears that no decision to extradite the applicant to Turkmenistan has been issued by the Prosecutor General’s Office of Russia. If and when such a decision is issued, it is open to the applicant to challenge the decision before the domestic courts and to raise the question of whether there is a real risk of ill-treatment in case of his extradition to Turkmenistan, taking into account the fact that he had been granted refugee status in Armenia. In the absence of any enforceable extradition decision the Court finds that it is no longer justified to continue the examination of the application. It notes, however, that should such a decision be taken, it remains open to the applicant to lodge a new application with the Court, including a request for interim measures.
9. In the light of the foregoing, and in the absence of any special circumstances regarding respect for the rights guaranteed by the Convention or its Protocols, the Court, in accordance with Article 37 § 1 (c) of the Convention, considers that it is no longer justified to continue the examination of the application.
10. In view of the above, it is appropriate to strike the case out of the list and to discontinue the application of Rule 39 of the Rules of Court.
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 23 June 2022.
Liv Tigerstedt Krzysztof Wojtyczek
Deputy Registrar President