Prohibition of expulsion to a risk of ill-treatment – Nizamov et al v. Russia

The European Court of Human Rights held on 7 May 2014 in the case of Nizamov and Others v. Russia (nos. 22636/13, 24034/13, 24334/13 and 24528/13) that Russia violated article 3 of the ECHR as a real risk exists that the applicants would be subjected to ill-treatment on the basis of their membership in the Islamic religious group if they were to be expelled to Uzbekistan. As in the previous cases, the concern was how one can prove that in fact applicants will be ill-treated if returned to Uzbekistan. However, the application of any standard of proof to the probability of future events will always be subject to a degree of speculation. What is more, the Court argued that mere formal commitment to international human rights treaties does not guarantee that they protection will be heeded in practice. More specifically, it noted that :

substantial grounds have been shown for believing that there is a real risk that the applicants would be subjected to treatment contrary to Article 3 of the Convention if they were to be expelled to Uzbekistan. The summary and unspecific reasoning adduced by the domestic authorities and the Government before the Court did not dispel the alleged risk of ill‑treatment. Nor can that risk be excluded on the basis of other material available to the Court. In this connection, the Court notes that the existence of domestic laws and the ratification of international treaties guaranteeing respect for fundamental rights, relied on by the Government in their arguments, are not in themselves sufficient to ensure adequate protection against the risk of ill-treatment where, as in the present case, reliable sources have reported practices resorted to or tolerated by the authorities which are manifestly contrary to the principles of the Convention…

What is noticeable and commendable, that Russia, often described as a state with the poor record of compliance with the ECtHR’s judgments,  heeded interim order of the European court from April 2013 asking not to expel the applicants to Uzbekistan until the final decision.