On December 2, 2016 the City court of St. Petersburg has overruled earlier district court’s decision to expel Mr. K., citizen of Uzbekistan, who had been found guilty of violation of the rules of stay in the Russian Federation (Article 18.8 Section 3 of the Russian Administrative Code). Earlier Krasnogvardeysky district court of St. Petersburg had sentenced K. to an administrative fine of Rb5,000 with further administrative expulsion from the Russian Federation. While awaiting expulsion, K. was kept in the centre for temporary detention of foreign nationals, and his minor daughter, who has Russian citizenship, was sent to a children’s shelter “Transit”.
This decision of district court was appealed by ADC “Memorial” in cooperation with lawyer Olga Tseytlina. St.Petersburg City court took into consideration the fact that K.’s daughter was a citizen of Russia, and K. himself was her only parent, as her mother had been deprived of parental rights earlier. In its decision the City court stated that execution of an administrative expulsion from the Russian Federation in accordance with Article 7 Section 3 of the federal law “On the legal status of foreign citizens in the Russian Federation” “implies impossibility for K. to obtain temporary residence permit in Russia for a period of five years, and consequently the impossibility of settling his family life, because of which undue interference with the right to respect for private family life may be possible”. The court also referred to Article 8 Section 2 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, according to which interference by a public authority with the exercise of the rights to respect for private and family life is not allowed, except for cases defined by law.
In accordance with the court order, administrative expulsion of K. from the Russian Federation was overruled and he was released from the centre for temporary detention of foreign nationals.