Russia Ordered To Pay Compensation For Extraditing Uzbek

The European Court of Human Rights has ordered Russia to pay an Uzbek man 40,000 euros ($53,636) compensation for wrongly extraditing him back to Uzbekistan where he was immediately arrested.

The case concerns Uzbek citizen Asamatjon Ermakov who fled to Russia in 2009 and attempted to gain asylum there.

The court's decision on November 7 said Russian authorities had failed "to protect the applicant against a real and imminent risk of torture and ill treatment by preventing his forcible transfer from Russia to Uzbekistan."

Ermakov was facing charges that included attempting to overthrow the constitutional order. He denies the charges.

The European court in September 2010 ordered Russia to stay the extradition while Ermakov's case was being considered but Ermakov was extradited to Uzbekistan in November 2012.