Strasbourg Court fines Russia for “inhuman and degrading treatment” against asylum-seekers

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled on Thursday that Russia had violated the rights of four asylum-seekers who were stranded in a transit zone of a Moscow airport for months, Deutsche Welle has reported.

The men — an Iraqi, a Palestinian, a Syrian and a Somali — were forced to stay in Sheremetyevo Airport's noisy boarding area between 2015 and 2017 while awaiting a decision on their asylum applications.

They spent five to 22 months sleeping on the floor on mattresses and relying on emergency rations supplied by the local branch of the UN refugee agency.

They were confined to a constantly lit, busy transit area, without access to proper shower or cooking facilities — conditions the Strasbourg-based court said amounted to degrading treatment.

The ECHR concluded that the asylum-seekers had been deprived of their freedom and exposed to inhumane conditions for an excessive period of time, and without any legal basis.

The court ordered Russia to pay €20,000 ($22,200) each in compensation to the Iraqi and Syrian men, €26,000 to the Somali man, and €15,000 to the Palestinian.