Sentenced to escape in his own country

In June 2014, Ny Tid told about the couple Kristina Kristeleva and Ljudmila Rogova from Russia. The couple sought asylum in Norway on the basis of violence and persecution as a result of their sexual orientation. In May 2014, the couple finally had their asylum application rejected by the Immigration Appeals Board (UNE). On 18 and 19 August this year, the case was before the Oslo District Court. "The time from the rejection until now has been absolutely terrible," Rogova told Ny Tid. "A lot has happened, and most of what has happened has been negative. I sent out 300 requests to various lawyers to see if this was a case that someone wanted to take for free. In the end, I succeed in finding one. "
On the same day as the trial between her and the Norwegian authorities started in Oslo District Court, Russian Irina Fet was attacked outside her home in Moscow, also on the basis of sexual orientering. 'They attacked me from behind. I only heard them shouting gays, "Fet wrote on his Facebook profile after the attack. In a survey conducted by the Levada Institute in Russia in May, 37 percent answered that homosexuality was a disease that must be treated. Furthermore, 18 percent thought that homosexuality should be punished. The survey was answered by 800 people. In June, a dozen people were arrested by Russian police after they tried to organize the gay parade Moscow Pride.
"I consider it impossible to return to Russia, also as an internally displaced person. The entire defense in the trial is built around the fact that it is not possible to return, ”Rogova says.

Refusal. Ljudmila Rogova came to Norway with her boyfriend Kristina Kristeleva in 2010. The couple fled Russia after being subjected to repeated cases of serious violence and attempted murder – both by civilians and by Russian police. They were accommodated at an asylum reception in Mo i Rana, and have since married. From Norway, they should also have been active in the fight for LGBT rights in Russia. But since the final refusal by UNE came in May last year, the situation has developed very dramatically for the married couple. “Kristina has become very mentally ill, trying to take her own life. We contacted the receptionist to get mental health help, and he said he could contact the UDI. This turned out to mean no, ”Rogova says. "I struggled a lot myself too, and eventually had to accept that Kristina would go to her parents in Russia. In March, she received support from the IOM and returned to Russia. She was having a hard time, and I think she needed to go home to her parents. But I don't think she was aware at the time what the consequences would be for her to return to Russia. "
After Kristina Kristeleva came to Russia, all contact was broken between the couple. After talking to some friends in Russia, Rogova learned that Kristeleva was hospitalized with a broken back.
The night before the trial came up in Oslo District Court, she got hold of Kristeleva, who told her she had tried to throw herself out of a window on the third floor.
"She just said that she regretted going back and that I shouldn't come. I don't know any more, "says Rogova.

Harmful to LGBT people. Of the more than 50 reported cases of hate crime against LGBT people in Russia in recent years, none have been investigated. "Norway must provide protection for LGBT people," Pavel Chikov, head of the Russian human rights organization Agora, told Ny Tid. The organization was in 2014 was awarded the Norwegian Rafto Prize, and works especially with LGBT issues in the country. During the trial in Oslo District Court, Chikov was called as a witness. He has no doubt that the situation is dangerous for LGBT people in Russia. "Russia's Orthodox Church, which has a strong influence on the Kremlin, goes public and supports radical homophobic groups," Chikov said. "Since the law on gay propaganda became a federal law, Agora has seen a marked increase in the number of cases where politically motivated violence and hate crime have been the case. We have also published a report stating that at least 50 cases of hate crime against homosexuals have been documented in the last five years. Unfortunately, none of the cases have been considered hate crimes and have had consequences. "Deporting an LGBT couple who are open about their orientation back to Russia will pose a serious danger that they will be subjected to attack," Chikov states.

"I consider it impossible to return to Russia, even as an internal refugee."

Referred to internal flight. The refusal from UNE, which Ny Tid has been given access to, describes several detailed and very serious acts of violence against the two women. Nevertheless, the tribunal concludes that it will be safe to return to Russia if the women settle in one of the country's larger cities. In the decision, UNE also questions the extent of the reactions the women have been exposed to, and is doubtful about this. UNE's head of information, Bjørn Lyster, tells Ny Tid that they receive very few cases from Russia on the basis of sexual orientering, and that they therefore do not have statistics or other systematic figures on this.

"Deporting an LGBT couple who is open about their orientation back to Russia will pose a serious risk of being attacked."

Mina Schouen of the Norwegian Helsinki Committee says that this is the first time a LGBT case from Russia has come before a Norwegian court. "Ljudmila's case is special because it is the first time, as far as I know, such a case from Russia has come up before the court in Norway. When it comes to her case, she tells of a threat that has led to a residence permit for people from other countries, ”Schouen says. “In such cases, the perpetrators are often not the authorities, but unidentified persons or associations. However, the cases are also characterized by the authorities' inability or willingness to provide protection. This also applies in Ljudmila's case, ”she points out. "She has been subjected to gross and systematic violence for a long time and has repeatedly tried to get help from the police, without luck. This went on from 2006 to 2010. There is nothing to suggest that the situation would be different now, when the situation in the country has deteriorated dramatically. ”
Following a decision by the Supreme Court from 2012, the Norwegian authorities are not allowed to send people home on the grounds that they can hide their sexual orientering. Yet there are many who have no choice but to live in hiding. Mina Schouen says that the safety of these is fragile.
"The choice to live in hiding is not something the individual LGBT person can make on their own behalf. It only requires that one person knows, then the person can be outed for the whole world. And the distance from a Norwegian asylum reception center is short – it only takes one more phone call to be sexual orientering and gender identity is revealed to everyone back home, "says Schouen.

Russian identity building. The much-talked-about propaganda law was one of the first to be put on the agenda after Putin came to power in Russia for the third time in May 2012. The law was intended to protect children from abuse, but according to senior adviser in the Norwegian Helsinki Committee Inna Sangadzhiyeva represents one of the symbols for Russia's anti-West rhetoric, at a clear distance from democratic values. "In recent years, the situation for LGBT people has been getting worse," says Sangadzhiyeva. "This must be seen in the context of general developments in Russia after Vladimir Putin returned to power in 2012. Anyone who in any way expresses criticism not only runs a major personal security risk – the authorities also adopt laws in express shipping designed to could prosecute just the groups they want. Journalists, activists and opposition politicians are portrayed as enemies of the state and as foreign agents, ”says Sangadziyeva. She is a specialist in Russia, and also points out that homophobia and transphobia have become a central part of the construction of Russian identity, marking how Russia differs from the so-called gay-friendly Europe – Gayropa in the vernacular.
In the autumn of 2014, UNE and the Norwegian authorities denied to Ny Tid that it was problematic to deport the gay Rogova couple to Russia.

Different practices. Like Norway, countries such as Finland, Germany and Austria use the European Convention on Human Rights as a basis when assessing whether a person has the right to reside on the basis of the need for protection. But Rogova's lawyer Per Inge Jespersen tells Ny Tid that Norway interprets the regulations differently than the countries mentioned. "Unlike in Norway, these countries have a practice of providing LGBT people from Russia with protection. Consequently, we believe that this is a topic that Norway has not addressed at the right level. The UDI acknowledges that Rogova will be persecuted, but believes she can be safe in Moscow. This makes the case a big issue in many contexts, "says Jespersen. He points out that the UDI acknowledges that the same regulations are the basis, but that the regulations are interpreted differently.
Section head of UNE, Torgeir Tofte Jørgensen, says that different case law and administrative practice between different countries are common: "UNE's decisions were based on updated and correct country information, and the Oslo District Court agreed," says Jørgensen. He elaborates: «The Immigration Administration's professional unit for country information (Landinfo) published a thematic note on the situation for LGBT people in Russia in January 2014. It was thus less than three months old when UNE made a decision in this case. The immigration authorities were also with Landinfo on a business trip to Moscow in November, and the situation for sexual minorities was an important topic for the trip and the meetings. It is considered specifically whether it is safe and reasonable to refer someone to internal flight. UNE thought it was justifiable in this case, "he says. "During the trial, UNE also presented international practice which showed that this case could have had a different outcome in some other countries. It is not unusual for case law and administrative practice to vary between countries. UNE assessed the case against Norwegian rules and Norwegian practice, and also against our international obligations, "says Jørgensen to Ny Tid.

The verdict was handed down on September 2, where she was rejected. The case is considered appealed. 

carima@nytid.no