The Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) has suspended consideration of some applications from Russians for asylum. Helsingin Sanomat writes about this.
The representative of the department, Juha Similä, explained this decision by the need to update data on Russia.
“When we talk about any country and the beginning of a war, be it Russia, Afghanistan or Iraq, it is important to have as much up-to-date information about the country as possible in order to make decisions. It is necessary to find out who the campaign affects, what it means to go to the front and what consequences it will have refusing to serve in the military.Whether it will lead to punishments, imprisonment or something else,” he said.
In my country blocked
present tense
According to him, the agency wants to ensure that no one is returned from Finland to a place where a person would face the death penalty, torture, persecution or other inhuman or degrading treatment.
The database update is expected to be completed within two weeks. In particular, it will include data from the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), research institutes and human rights organizations. In addition, Finland is awaiting general advice from the EU Asylum Agency on the issue of military service as a basis for granting asylum.
The department added that the suspension of consideration of applications does not mean that they will not be considered at all.
In the fall of 2022, Finland introduced restrictions on entry into the country for Russian citizens on a Schengen visa for tourism purposes and for transit to other European countries. The restrictions came into effect on September 30, 2022 for an indefinite period. The influx of Russians to Finland and other countries was associated with the “partial” mobilization for the war in Ukraine announced in the Russian Federation.
