The ICJ intervened today before the European Court of Human Rights in a case of extradition of an Uzbek national to his country of origin where he could be at risk of torture or ill-treatment.
The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) intervened in the case of S.U. v. Russia.
In its submissions, the ICJ analysed the legal framework governing extraditions from the Russian Federation to Central Asian States, in particular Uzbekistan, as well as Russia’s extradition practice, including through the use of diplomatic assurances. These submissions aim to assist the Court in assessing the compliance of this law and practice with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and, in particular, with its procedural non-refoulement obligations.
The ICJ concluded that the analysis of the law and practice reveals a number of critical human rights deficits.
The ICJ submitted that the lack of respect for the procedural aspect of the principle of non-refoulement, the consequent ineffectiveness of domestic remedies in this regard, in the Russian Federation, and the abysmal record of Uzbekistan in upholding its obligation to respect and protect the prohibition of torture or other ill-treatment mean that extraditions from the Russian Federation to Uzbekistan entail a high risk of violations of both substantive and procedural aspects of the principle of non-refoulement.
RussianFederation-ICJ-AmicusBrief-S.U.-ECtHR-legalsubmission-2016 (download the third party intervention)