ADC “Memorial” was approached by the crisis center for women “Svet Nadezhdy” (“Light of Hope”) with a request for legal assistance to be provided to Mrs. O., a citizen of Uzbekistan, who was a victim of family violence and ended up in crisis center after escaping her family together with her four children following a fight with her husband. The difficult situation of Mrs. O. was further aggravated by the fact that she lost her immigration documents, including documents for her children. Mrs. O. wanted to go to Uzbekistan to get medical treatment for her son since medical assistance in Russia was not available for him. She feared that she could be deported from Russia due to absence of documents and after that she would not be able to re-enter Russia for the next 5 years.
The staff of ADC “Memorial” helped Mrs. O. to get documents re-issued for both her and her children in order to get a certificate to return to her native country, including permission for travel for her children signed by her husband and verified by notary.
In spite of the fact that documents for Mrs. O. and her children were properly issued, problems arised at the airport as she was ready to leave, since the officers of the Federal Migration Service (FMS) claimed that she is obliged to pay some “fine” of Rb2,000 and threatened her with deportation. After consulting with the staff of ADC “Memorial” by phone, she asked FMS officers to issue a copy of resolution on administrative violation, which the latter failed to do. After that Mrs. O. was able to leave for Uzbekistan freely.
The staff of “Svet Nadezhdy” crisis center sent a letter of praise to ADC “Memorial” “for assistance in solving problems of mother and her children”. They have also expressed their readiness to further cooperate with ADC “Memorial” in assisting women and children – foreign citizens and people without citizenship – who find themselves in trouble.