A refugee who was threatened with extradition when he tried to return to Britain after holidaying in Italy has won a last-minute reprieve.
The Russian man, who has refugee status in the UK, was threatened with extradition to his home country when he tried to return at the end of a week’s holiday in Palermo.
Refugees have the right to travel internationally using their refugee travel documents but this case raises serious concerns about how safe it is to do so.
The man, 50, a human rights activist who cannot be named for security reasons, was due to board a flight back to the UK on Wednesday 23 August with his wife and nine-year-old son.
After initially passing through security checks at Palermo airport, he was arrested and taken to Sicily’s Pagliarelli prison. He was threatened with being extradited to Russia based on a 2017 warrant issued by a regional office of the Russian interior ministry.
In Russia he worked with well-known activists such as Anna Politkovskaya, the anti-Putin journalist who was murdered in 2006.
He fled Russia believing that his life would also be at risk if he remained in his home country. He claimed asylum in the UK due to the 2017 arrest warrant and, after undergoing comprehensive security checks in the UK, was granted refugee status
Shocked by her husband’s arrest, his wife contacted British embassy officials for help but was told they could not assist UK residents who have refugee status, only British citizens.
His wife told the Guardian: “We didn’t think something like this could happen in Europe. I am so worried about him. He has high blood pressure and when he was arrested at the airport he went completely white.”
After hearing the news – from an urgent court hearing about the extradition in the Italian court on Monday – that officials were no longer planning to pursue extradition, the man’s wife told the Guardian she was overjoyed: “It is as if life has returned to my body. My son is very happy. He finally smiled.”
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Italy intervened in the case and made submissions at a court hearing in Palermo on Monday.
In its statement to the court, UNHCR said the man “was granted refugee status by the English authorities. By virtue of this status [he] cannot be expelled, repatriated or extradited to his country of origin.”
The statement adds: “Therefore UNHCR trusts that the case will be evaluated taking into consideration the applicable international obligations and human rights.”
Following the court hearing, the man was released from prison on Monday evening and reunited with his wife and family in Palermo. The family are hoping to return to the UK as soon as possible.
The man’s Italian lawyer, Luca Bonanno, thanked everyone involved in halting the threat of extradition. “The decision of the Palermo court of appeal has finally restored [the man’s] dignity,” he said. “Thanks above all to the recognition of refugee status by Great Britain.”
The man’s UK lawyer, Fahad Ansari of Riverway Law, condemned the policy of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office not to support those granted refugee status in the UK if they get into difficulties abroad.
“My client found himself in the hellish position whereby he had no access to consular assistance while he languished in an Italian prison awaiting extradition to Russia, where he would inevitably have been executed.
“It is imperative that the government legislates to ensure that individuals to whom it grants protection continue to benefit from that protection by way of consular assistance when travelling overseas.”
A spokesperson for the Italian embassy in London told the Guardian before Monday’s court decision: “We are aware of the case you mentioned. It is being dealt with by the Italian authorities, in cooperation with their British counterparts. This is standard practice in such situations.”
