4
MAINOV v. RUSSIA JUDGMENT
follows that the remainder of the complaint is manifestly ill-founded and
must be rejected in accordance with Article 35 §§ 3 (a) and 4 of the
Convention.
II. ALLEGED VIOLATION OF ARTICLE 5 OF THE CONVENTION
20. The applicant complained under Article 5 § 1 (f) of the Convention
that the Russian authorities had not pursued the removal proceedings in
good faith because they had been aware that his removal had not been a
realistic possibility. The relevant parts of Article 5 read as follows:
“1. Everyone has the right to liberty and security of person. No one shall be
deprived of his liberty save in the following cases and in accordance with a procedure
prescribed by law:
...
(f) the lawful arrest or detention ... of a person against whom action is being taken
with a view to deportation or extradition.”
21. The Government submitted a summary of decisions taken in the
removal proceedings and denied that there was a breach of Article 5 § 1 of
the Convention.
A. Admissibility
22. The Court considers that this complaint is not manifestly ill-founded
within the meaning of Article 35 § 3 (a) of the Convention. It further notes
that it is not inadmissible on any other grounds. It must therefore be
declared admissible.
B. Merits
23. The Court reiterates that, to avoid being branded as arbitrary,
detention under Article 5 § 1 (f) of the Convention must be carried out in
good faith; it must be closely connected to the ground of detention relied on
by the Government; the place and conditions of detention should be
appropriate; and the length of the detention should not exceed that
reasonably required for the purpose pursued (see A. and Others
v. the United Kingdom [GC], no. 3455/05, § 164, ECHR 2009, and Kim,
cited above, § 49).
24. The Court notes that the applicant remained in preventive detention
pending the enforcement of the removal order for more than two years. The
only measure the Russian authorities deployed during that period was the
sending of several letters of request to the Embassy of Tajikistan, seeking to
obtain a laissez-passer document for the applicant. However, in doing so,
they merely followed the established procedure in blatant disregard for the