A stateless Russian resident will be issued a passport after the ECHR offered to pay him 9 thousand euros in compensation

Resident of Russia M., who became stateless (stateless person), the authorities decided to issue a passport. This happened after M. appealed to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), which offered the Russian authorities to pay the man 9 thousand euros in compensation, informs human rights center “Memorial”.

M. is a native of one of the republics of the former USSR. He moved to Russia with his parents at preschool age, later served in the army, and was convicted in the 2000s. While the man was serving his sentence, the Ministry of Justice decided that his stay in Russia was undesirable, and the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs ordered his deportation after his release from the colony. The reason for this was a criminal record: the state authorities considered that M. posed a threat to the safety of the population and the defense capability of Russia.

M. was released on parole as a convict who, according to the Federal Penitentiary Service, has taken the path of reform and is not dangerous to society. However, after leaving the colony, the man was placed in the Temporary Detention Center for Foreign Citizens (TsVSIG). And the fact that he had a deportation order meant that M. was forced to remain in illegal status until the expiration of his conviction (more than five years). This does not give him the opportunity to work, receive free medical care and enjoy other social rights. M. has no opportunity to clear his conviction early in court, because this requires “proof of correction”, which, for example, includes employment, positive characteristics and legal marriage. But it is almost impossible to go through all these stages of socialization without a source of income.

In Russia, the courts refused M. to satisfy his claims and restore his citizenship, after which he filed a complaint with the ECHR, referring to Art. 3, 5, 8 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, which guarantee the right to prohibit inhuman and degrading treatment, the right to liberty and security of person, the right to respect for private and family life.

In January, the court offered the parties a peaceful settlement: the payment of compensation to M. in 9 thousand euros and the adoption by the authorities of measures to legalize him. The Russian government refused such conditions.

In August M. received a notification that he was a citizen of Russia. M. assured that he will receive a passport in any case. The Regional Directorate for Migration Issues was ordered to recognize him as a citizen urgently and to document him, ”explained Zhanna Biryukova, a lawyer for the Migration and Law network. – Unfortunately, there are real fears that when the examination of his complaint to the ECHR is over, the passport may be revoked again ”.

In 2017, the Constitutional Court issued a ruling, in which it recognized that the legislation allows keeping stateless people in the CVSIG virtually indefinitely and this problem needs to be resolved. However, to date, the situation has not changed.

Human rights activists also note that the authorities can arbitrarily apply the mechanism of deprivation of citizenship for committing certain crimes, prescribed in Art. 22 62-FZ “On citizenship of the Russian Federation”. The fact is that Article 6 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation prohibits depriving a person of Russian citizenship if after that he becomes stateless. In addition, the mechanism of deprivation of citizenship should not be applied to persons with Russian citizenship, the Constitution says. Thus, Art. 22 of the law “On Citizenship” can be declared unconstitutional in relation to those people who are citizens of Russia initially or received it after the collapse of the USSR, according to human rights activists.