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ECHR requests response from Finnish government on asylum case of Russian children

Thursday 25th 2024 on 08:04 in  
Finland

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has requested a response from the Finnish government regarding the case of Russian children granted asylum in Finland, who have been ordered to be returned to Russia. The children’s father arrived in Finland in 2022 with his two children after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The matter has been repeatedly addressed in Finland’s Supreme Court (KKO) at the father’s initiative, even after the court issued a precedent-setting ruling in September 2023. This summer, the dispute advanced to preliminary proceedings at the ECHR.

The father arrived in Finland in September 2022 with his then 9- and 11-year-old children, seeking asylum due to the political situation in Russia and the invasion of Ukraine. According to the ECHR report, he expressed opposition to Russia’s political leadership and feared conscription for the Armed Forces in Ukraine. The father submitted asylum applications just one week before Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a partial mobilization in late September 2022. He brought the children to Finland without their mother’s consent.

The ECHR outlines that the father and mother had been living separately for years, with the children primarily residing with their mother. She has since sought legal action in Finland to have the children returned to her, citing the Hague Convention on International Child Abduction. Last year, the Helsinki Court of Appeal dismissed her claim, citing the risk of exposing the children to emotional harm in Russia due to their previous military training.

In January 2023, KKO upheld the earlier decision despite the father’s asylum application being granted in December 2023, which indicated a change in circumstances. KKO refused to reconsider its previous ruling, stating that the threshold for altering decisions is high. Following this outcome, the father appealed to the ECHR, which is examining whether KKO’s decision violated the applicants’ right to family life. The ECHR has imposed a stay on the enforcement of KKO’s decision while it reviews the case.

Source 
(via yle.fi)