Document - Ukraine. Renvoi forcé / Torture. Lema Soussarov

PUBLIC AI Index: EUR 50/009/2008

07 July 2008

Further Information on UA 207/07 (EUR 50/003/2007, 9 August 2007) and follow-ups (EUR 50/004/2007, 4 October 2007; EUR 50/004/2008, 7 March 2008; EUR 50/007/2008, 12 June 2008) Forcible return/ torture

UKRAINE Lema Susarov (m), ethnic Chechen

On 4 July, ethnic Chechen refugee Lema Susarov was permitted to travel from Ukraine to Finland, where he will be resettled.

Lema Susarov was first recognized as a refugee by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in 2006, in Baku, Azerbaijan. According to the UNHCR, he arrived in Ukraine at the end of 2006. The Russian Federation sought his extradition on 16 February 2007, on charges of robbery, and the decision to extradite him was taken by the Prosecutor General of Ukraine on 27 July 2007, apparently under pressure from the Russian authorities. He had been detained in Ukraine since 20 July 2007.

Lema Susarov applied to Ukraine's State Committee for Nationalities and Religions (SCNR) for refugee status in the country in August 2007. However, as the SCNR did not take any decisions on refugee status between May and November 2007 because of a dispute about its terms of reference, the UNHCR office in Kyiv carried out an individual assessment of Lema Susarov’s case, and on 22 August 2007 determined him to be a refugee. The UNHCR subsequently submitted an application for his emergency resettlement, and on 11 October 2007, Finland recognized his refugee status and accepted him for resettlement. However, when the SCNR resumed its work, it also considered his application for refugee status, and rejected it on 15 January 2008.

Lema Susarov appealed against this rejection, and his appeal was heard by a district appeal court in June. On 2 July, the court ruled in his favour, and he was released.

Many thanks to all who sent appeals. No further action is needed.