In this judgment, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) ruled unanimously that there would be no violation of Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), enshrining the prohibition of torture and of inhuman or degrading treatment, if the applicants were extradited to Kyrgyzstan.

The case arose from an application through which two people alleged that they risked ill-treatment if extradited to Kyrgyzstan, since they belonged to the Uzbek ethnic minority, a group persecuted by the authorities of Kyrgyzstan since inter-ethnic clashes in 2010.

The Court took into consideration recent reports issued by human-rights bodies of the United Nations as well as by international, regional and national NGOs. On these grounds, the ECtHR concluded that the overall situation in Kyrgyzstan did not require a total ban on extraditions, since ethnic Uzbeks do not currently constitute a group which is systematically exposed to ill-treatment and/or torture in the country.

In addition, the ECtHR held that neither applicant had reliably proved that their specific situations and circumstances implied a real risk of ill-treatment nor that further political or ethnic grounds. Moreover, Russian courts had thoroughly examined the individual situations of the applicants and the risks they alleged.

Ultimately, the ECtHR noted that its assessment of the general situation in a particular country (in this case, Kyrgyzstan) can be changed and that, in the future, a re-examination can be carried out by a Chamber in a potential further case.

 

(Comment by Chiara Graziani)