Finland To Look Into 500 Asylum Decisions After European Court Of Human Rights Ruling

Finland to Look Into 500 Asylum Decisions After European Court of Human Rights Ruling

The Finnish Immigration Service said on Friday that it would review about 500 asylum decisions after the European Court of Human Rights found it guilty of human rights violations

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 22nd November, 2019) The Finnish Immigration Service said on Friday that it would review about 500 asylum decisions after the European Court of Human Rights found it guilty of human rights violations.

On November 14, the ECHR ruled that Finland had violated Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights, by denying asylum to an Iraqi citizen despite him providing evidence of being a target of assassination back home. The court also ruled that the country violated Article 3, which outlaws torture and abuse.

"According to the Finnish Immigration Service's investigation, there are approximately 500 asylum seekers in Finland who have received an enforceable negative decision on their application before the ECHR issued its decision, meaning that they are waiting for removal from the country," the service said in a statement.

Jaana Vuorio, the service's director general, assured that it took such measures because the EHCR decision had been taken seriously.

The service added that the current number of asylum seekers was low, with the number of first-time requests being less than 2,200 since the beginning of 2019.