10th May 2016
A client of 9BRi member Eeva Heikkila, has been granted asylum in an EU Member State. Prior to this decision, Ms Heikkila secured UN interim measures to halt the immediate deportation of her client to Chechnya. The application was successful in a filing that was argued upon facts and principles of humanitarian law.
The client, who is unable to be named, escaped from Chechnya during the violent aftermath of the Second Chechen War, after which he and his family became targets of persecution.
In a complaint she submitted to the United Nations Committee against Torture, Ms Heikkila made it clear that if her client were deported, it is highly probable that he would be at risk of torture, and even death.
Caught in the fighting between the separatist movement and the counter-terrorism operations of the Russian Federation, a number of people have been forced to leave Chechnya and Ingushetia since the re-commencement of hostilities by Russia in 1999. While the Russian Federation officially terminated its counter-terrorism operation in Chechnya seven years ago (2009), disappearances, torture and other persecution have allegedly continued.
Image source: aboutworldlanguages.com