MOSCOW (Reuters) – The European Court of Human Rights has ruled the extradition from Russia to Uzbekistan of human rights activist Valentina Chupik should be suspended until at least Oct. 17, her lawyer said on Thursday.
Chupik is an Uzbek citizen who has until recently held refugee status in Russia since 2009.
“The Russian Federation has to suspend the deportation procedure until at least October 17. The court may decide after that to extend that ruling for the duration of the proceedings if it sees the risk for her to be subjected to ill treatment,” Chupik’s laywer, Daria Trenina, said.
Russia is a signatory of the European Convention on Human rights, and largely observes the court’s rulings.
The country passed a law last year giving its national legislation precedence over international treaties and rulings from international bodies in cases when they conflict with the Russian constitution. In February it dismissed the court’s call to free Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny.
Chupik, a human rights lawyer who operates a helpline for migrants in Russia, said on Saturday she had been detained at a Moscow airport after the country’s security service revoked her refugee status.
She told Reuters on Thursday that she was still in a special detention centre at Sheremetyevo airport and was aware of the ruling.
Russia’s FSB security service has barred Chupik from entry to Russia for 30 years, the Novaya Gazeta newspaper reported, citing a document provided by Chupik.
The FSB has not replied to a request by Reuters for comment.
Chupik’s organisation, Tong Jahoni, provides free legal support to migrants in case of illegal non-payment of wages, deportation or detention.
Millions of economic migrants, many from poor Central Asian republics whose economies rely on them sending home some of their salaries, work in Russia in the grey economy, where they can be exploited or cheated by employers.
(Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin; additional reporting by Polina Devitt; editing by Toby Chopra)
