Finnish court halts deportation of two Russians who risk prosecution at home for assisting Ukrainians
A Finnish court has overturned a decision denying asylum to Russian nationals Olga Belova and her son, Nikita Belov, ordering the country’s migration service to reconsider their case, The Guardian reported on Tuesday.
The family’s lawyer, speaking to reporters on condition of anonymity, said the ruling followed the submission of “extensive new evidence” of the potential persecution they could face in Russia.
The mother and son left Russia after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine and applied for asylum in Finland. In April, it was reported that Finnish authorities had rejected their claim, leaving them at risk of deportation to Russia and likely criminal prosecution there. A court later granted a request from the activist group Russian Anti-War Committee to halt the couple’s deportation while the case proceeded.
According to Finnish media, the pair had assisted Ukrainian refugees, including through work with the Finnish humanitarian group FinEst. They had also organised informational protests and raised money for causes such as first-aid kits and other supplies for Ukraine’s military.
Finnish authorities had argued that the family’s support for Ukraine was “small-scale” and would not make them a particular target for the Russian authorities or pose a “genuine risk of serious human rights violations” if they were sent back. Their lawyers disputed that assessment, pointing out that in Russia, raising financial or material aid for the Ukrainian military and refugees is unambiguously treated as a criminal offence.
More than 2,300 Russians have sought asylum in Finland since the start of the war, but only 604 have been granted the status, according to figures cited by politician Andrey Pivovarov, meaning that roughly three in four Russian applicants are turned down. Finland’s migration service has nonetheless acknowledged a threefold increase in the number of convictions in politically motivated cases in Russia.