ECHR intervenes in Finnish Court’s decision to return children granted asylum to Russia

In September 2023, the Finnish Supreme Court ordered the return of two children to Russia. They came to Finland with their Russian father.

Now the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has intervened in the case, and requests a response from the government to the court’s decision, the Finnish Bar Association reports.

Kemi based lawyer, Harri Nevala, who represents the father and the children, says that the family (father and children) appealed to the ECHR. 

The Supreme Court’s order to return the children is temporarily halted until the ECHR hearing in October, Nevala tells.

Feared political prosecution

After Russia’s full-scale war on Ukraine, the father left for Finland in September 2022 with his then 9- and 11-year old children. The children are born in 2011 and 2013.

The father applied for asylum for himself and his children, arguing that his opposition to the Russian government and the war in Ukraine put him at risk of political persecution in Russia.

Request of return

The children were brought to Finland without the mother’s consent.

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In the beginning of last year, the mother requested the Helsinki Court of Appeal to order the return of the children under the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.

The parents are separated, and while still in Russia the children lived with their mother. The father had regular contact with the children, and they stayed occasionally at his home.

The father opposed the mother’s request, arguing that there was a grave risk that the return of the children to Russia would expose them to psychological harm or place them in an intolerable situation. 

He specifically stated that the children were forced to attend a military school in Russia where they were being taught how to use guns and exposed to war propaganda.

The children did not want to go back to Russia.

Helsinki Court denied return

Last year, Helsinki Court of Appeal dismissed the mother’s request.

The court found that there was a serious risk the children would continue attending the same military school, which could cause them psychological harm. 

Although both children opposed going back to Russia, the court emphasised the older child’s opinion but did not find it decisive. The primary concern was the significant risk of psychological harm if the children were returned.

Supreme Court overturned decision

The mother appealed against the lower court decision, arguing that the risks were overestimated and expressing her willingness to provide a different education.

In September 2023, the Finnish Supreme Court ordered the return of both children to Russia, dismissing earlier concerns about potential psychological harm from their previous military-style schooling. 

Despite the children’s objections, especially the older child’s, the court concluded that returning them would not expose them to grave risks or intolerable situations.

The court emphasised that the children’s basic needs would be met and that their return was in their best interests, considering their lifelong residence in Russia and family ties there.

Father requested annulment

The father sought to annul the decision on two separate occasions.

In October 2023, he requested the annulment of the decision, claiming the mother would hand the children to a religious sect, which she denied.

The Supreme Court rejected this request, stating that new facts alone were not enough to warrant annulment.

I December, the father and children were granted asylum due to concerns about persecution in Russia based on the father’s political views. 

Following this, the father submitted another request for annulment, arguing that the asylum decision and the mother’s alleged consent for the older child to remain in Finland should be considered.

In January 2024, the Supreme Court dismissed the second request, pointing out that the mother denied the alleged agreement and that the asylum decision did not change the obligations under the Hague Convention.

It was stated that the asylum was granted due to the father’s circumstances, not because of any direct risk to the children if they were returned to Russia.

ECHR requests response

The ECHR now requests a response from the Finnish government regarding the father’s appeal, after the Supreme Court ordered the return of the children.

Questions to be answered is whether the Supreme Court’s decision violated the applicants’ right to family life, if the ruling was fair, and whether the court adequately considered how the father’s asylum status could impact his relationship with his children if they were returned to Russia.

Additionally, ECHR wants to know if the children face a risk of being subjected to mistreatment if the return to Russia os enforced.