The ECHR found the expulsion of a US citizen from Russia unjustified

The European Court of Human Rights recognized the expulsion from Russia of US citizen, human rights activist Jennifer Gaspard as unfounded and awarded her 12.5 thousand euros in compensation, as well as 1642 euros in reimbursement of legal costs. The decision was published on the website of the ECtHR.

The court found Russia guilty of violating Article 8 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights (the right to respect for private and family life).

Gaspar lived in Russia for 10 years. Together with her lawyer husband Ivan Pavlov, she worked for the Freedom of Information Foundation, which advised Russian NGOs. After the fund was included in the register of "foreign agents", it was liquidated.

In August 2014, the Federal Migration Service demanded that Gaspar be expelled from Russia, deprived her of her residence permit and denied her citizenship of the Russian Federation. The decision of the migration service was based on the secret conclusion of the FSB that Jennifer Gaspard allegedly "advocates forcibly changing the foundations of the constitutional order of Russia, and by other actions creates a threat to state security."