European court informs Russia on ban to eject reporter

MOSCOW - 5 August 2017: Strasbourg Court has informed Russia’s authorities on the ban to eject Novaya Gazeta’s reporter Khudoberdi Nurmatov (working under pseudonym Ali Feruz), whom the Russian court ruled to eject, until his appeal to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) is studied, TASS news agency quoted the Russian Justice Ministry as saying.

"The European Court of Human Rights has informed Russian authorities on its decision to apply provisional measures under Rule 39 of its regulations in the form of a ban on any forced displacement of Uzbekistan’s citizen Khudoberdi Turgunalievich Nurmatov (Ali Feruz) from the territory of the Russian Federation until the European Court completes proceedings on the appeal from the named person, as well as a ban on restriction of his access to Russian courts," the ministry added.

The Russian Justice Ministry quickly informed Russian relevant state agencies on this decision of the European Court, the ministry added.

On August 1, Moscow’s Basmanny Court ruled to eject Russia’s Novaya Gazeta reporter and Uzbekistan’s citizen Khudoberdi Nurmatov, who was detained on Tuesday near the newspaper’s editor office in Moscow.

He was also issued an administrative penalty of 5,000 rubles ($82). According to the court’s decision, Nurmatov will stay in a detention facility for foreign citizens in Moscow where he was placed by enforcement officers until the ruling comes into force.

The court found the correspondent guilty under Article 18.8 Part 3.1 of the Russian Code for Administrative Offences ("Violation by a foreign citizen or a person without citizenship of rules of entry into the Russian Federation or the order of residing (living) in the Russian Federation").