Deportation to execution

On January 27, the Moscow Migration Service once again denied temporary asylum to a fugitive from North Korea, but he still has a chance to stay in Russia and survive

A North Korean citizen, whose name has not been officially released, has been in Russia since 2013, awaiting the decision of the Federal Migration Service (FMS) to grant refugee status. Now, after an official refusal, the fugitive can be deported to the DPRK, where he will most likely be sent to a camp or executed.

There are two statuses - refugee and temporary asylum. The first fugitive from the DPRK was denied twice - despite the fact that the court recognized this decision as illegal. The previous decision to refuse temporary asylum was issued to us on December 22, 2015, five days after we applied to the migration service. During January, the North Korean went with the committee staff to the FMS five times. He was supposed to receive a document that is issued for the duration of the case - that is, for three months. In the end, and instead of this paper, he was given a refusal.

After the uproar, we got a call from the migration service. The working day had long ended - it was about eight in the evening, and they told him to come on January 28 and submit an application. It was accepted. We hope this is not a maneuver to appease the public. We have seen hundreds of refusal notices, and this is an unusual situation: the migration service has not behaved this way before. They will not revise the decision on refugee status - they are trying to save face in a bad game. However, apparently, instructions were given not only to accept documents, but also to give asylum.

Last time, the migration service motivated the refusal by the fact that the refugee did not prove that he could be executed in the DPRK - he did not cite articles of Korean laws

Last time, the migration service motivated the refusal by the fact that the refugee did not prove that he could be executed in the DPRK - he did not cite articles of Korean laws. Yes, he really does not know under what article he was convicted. (The first time a young man fled from the DPRK to China. He lived there illegally for several years, but was caught and deported to North Korea, where he was imprisoned, beaten and tortured, and later transferred to a labor camp. - NT) He even I don’t know if there was a trial, because I didn’t attend it. In the labor camp, the inmates told him that usually deportees from China are considered traitors. And the traitors sit for 10 years. What threatens the recidivist who repeated the escape twice is unknown. They can also give "10 years without the right to correspond."

In a good way, clarifying the circumstances is the business of the migration service. A refugee may be illiterate, have proof or not. The specialist must carefully interview him, look at the documents and compare with the situation in the country - is there a risk when returning to his homeland. Will he be pursued? In fact, there is no investigation: it is not the law that is in effect, but the installation. And it is this: do not give refugee status.

We can only guess what this setup is. But practice shows that if the authorities said to give asylum to one out of ten or out of a hundred, they will give it, and it doesn’t matter what the personal circumstances of a particular person are. We saw the documents, according to which it was obvious that the specialist was preparing a positive decision, but in the end the refusal was not approved by the authorities. There was a directive to give to Ukrainians - they just gave, no one looked at the individual situation. At one time they gave the Syrians, but then they changed their minds.

If the migration service refuses again, we will go to the European Court. He can apply "rule 39" to forbid the deportation of a refugee until a final decision is made. It is applied urgently. The decision of the ECtHR may take several years. But it will no longer be possible to expel a person.