According to Helsingin Sanomat, the ECHR has ordered Finland to comment on a complaint filed by nine Russian nationals
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) demanded from the Finnish authorities to explain the closure of the border with Russia. This was reported by the Helsingin Sanomat (HS) newspaper.
According to the newspaper, the ECHR ordered Finland to comment on a complaint filed by nine Russian natives. They considered that the closure of the border violated their rights, as traveling from Finland to Russia was an important part of their lives. Eight of the complainants had relatives in Russia whom they could no longer see, and several also complained that their freedom of religion had been violated because they could no longer regularly visit cemeteries in Russia. One complainant considered that his right to privacy had been violated because he had to leave his job in Russia, and another person noted a violation of the right to private property because he could no longer receive his pension in the Russian Federation, which required visits to a bank on Russian territory due to the inaccessibility of money transfers.
The complainants also accused the Finnish authorities of discrimination, citing the fact that the closure of the border did not provide for any exceptions for the country's Russian-speaking population or persons of Russian origin. The complainants also complained about the lack of effective remedies - the Finnish Supreme Administrative Court, to which they appealed in March 2024, refused to investigate the complaint.
The newspaper notes that the very fact that the ECtHR asked Helsinki for explanations in connection with the filed complaint was a significant advance in the case, because the court usually rejects up to 90% of filed complaints without requiring comments from the state authorities.
In November 2023, the Finnish government closed road transportation checkpoints on the border with the Russian Federation on the grounds of an uncontrolled flow of refugees from third countries. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said that Helsinki's decision to close border crossings creates new dividing lines in Europe, Moscow's response to these actions will be worked out in an interdepartmental format.
Source: TASS
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) demanded from the Finnish authorities to explain the closure of the border with Russia. This was reported by the Helsingin Sanomat (HS) newspaper.
According to the newspaper, the ECHR ordered Finland to comment on a complaint filed by nine Russian natives. They considered that the closure of the border violated their rights, as traveling from Finland to Russia was an important part of their lives. Eight of the complainants had relatives in Russia whom they could no longer see, and several also complained that their freedom of religion had been violated because they could no longer regularly visit cemeteries in Russia. One complainant considered that his right to privacy had been violated because he had to leave his job in Russia, and another person noted a violation of the right to private property because he could no longer receive his pension in the Russian Federation, which required visits to a bank on Russian territory due to the inaccessibility of money transfers.
The complainants also accused the Finnish authorities of discrimination, citing the fact that the closure of the border did not provide for any exceptions for the country's Russian-speaking population or persons of Russian origin. The complainants also complained about the lack of effective remedies - the Finnish Supreme Administrative Court, to which they appealed in March 2024, refused to investigate the complaint.
The newspaper notes that the very fact that the ECtHR asked Helsinki for explanations in connection with the filed complaint was a significant advance in the case, because the court usually rejects up to 90% of filed complaints without requiring comments from the state authorities.
In November 2023, the Finnish government closed road transportation checkpoints on the border with the Russian Federation on the grounds of an uncontrolled flow of refugees from third countries. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said that Helsinki's decision to close border crossings creates new dividing lines in Europe, Moscow's response to these actions will be worked out in an interdepartmental format.
Source: TASS