DUSHANBE, April 6, 2011, Asia-Plus – The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg has reportedly thrown out an appeal by the Russian authorities over Mahmadruzi Iskandarov’s case.
In a ruling handed down on April 1, the European Court of Human Rights upheld its decision on the claim of Mahmadruzi Iskandarov against Russian authorities, Iskandarov’s son, Firouz Iskandarov, told Asia-Plus Wednesday afternoon. According to him, the ruling was handed down following the appeal by the Russian authorities against the verdict passed by the ECHR on September 23, 2010.
According to a copy of the ECHR ruling Asia-Plus received, the court came to a conclusion that the Russian side, with regard to Mahmadruzi Iskandarov, violated several articles of the European Convention on Human Rights, including Article 3 prohibiting torture, and “inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment” and Article 5 providing that everyone has the right to liberty and security of person.
Ms. Anna Stavitskaya, a Russian lawyer of Mahmadruzi Iskandarov, intends to apply to the Russian law enforcement and judicial authorities with demand of restoration of justice and to seek return of Iskandarov to Russia for statement.
“Commenting on this case, experts note that decisions of the European Court of Human Rights do not apply to Tajikistan,” noted Firouz Iskandarov, “But my father’s lawyers rely on an agreement between Russia and Tajikistan on legal assistance and legal relations in civil, family and criminal cases.”
We will recall that the European Court of Human Rights on September 23, 2010 secured the claim of former chairman of the Democratic Party of Tajikistan (DPT) Mahmadruzi Iskandarov against Russian authorities.
According to Iskandarov’s lawyers, the lawsuit was filed over Russian law enforcement authorities’ support for detention of Iskandarov in Russia. Mahmadruzi Iskandarov claims that he was abducted by Tajik security forces in the Russian city of Korolyov on April 16, 2005 and illegally transferred to Tajikistan on April 22, 2005.
The European Court of Human Rights established that Russian law enforcement authorities violated rights of Tajik national, contributing to illegal extradition of him to Tajikistan. The court ordered Russian law enforcement authorities to pay 30,000 euros to Iskandarov for moral damage and 3,000 euros for legal costs.
Mahmadruzi Iskandarov was arrested in Dushanbe in April 2005 after he was transferred from Russia to Tajikistan under mysterious circumstances.
On October 5, 2005, the Supreme Court of Tajikistan sentenced Mahmadruzi Iskandarov to 23 years in prison. The sentence followed his conviction on charges of terrorism, the embezzlement of state funds, and the illegal storage of weapons. The court also imposed a 1.5 million-somoni ($470,000) fine and stripped Iskandarov of all previous state honors and awards, including revoking his rank of Major-General.
