News

ECtHR: Communicated case concerning the alleged unlawful deportation to Iran and the lack of procedural safeguards in Cyprus

On 24 June 2026, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) communicated the application Ali Khaledi Batrashi and Others v. Cyprus (Application no. 29564/25). The case concerns the alleged unlawful deportation of the first applicant to Iran without an adequate assessment of the risk of ill-treatment upon return, as well as the alleged lack of procedural safeguards in the deportation and detention proceedings.

The first applicant had lived in Cyprus since 2007 and remained there on humanitarian grounds after his asylum application was rejected, owing to the severe disability of one of his daughters. Following his arrest in 2023 on suspicion of involvement in terrorist activities, he was detained several times and was deported to Iran in May 2025. The first applicant alleges that his deportation exposed him to a real risk of ill-treatment in Iran and that he was subjected to treatment contrary to Article 3 during his deportation. He further complains that his detention was unlawful and arbitrary and that the judicial review proceedings concerning his detention did not comply with the requirements of Article 5 ECHR. The remaining applicants complain that the first applicant’s deportation interfered with their right to respect for family life.

The Court asked the parties, inter alia, whether the Cypriot authorities carried out a thorough assessment of the alleged risk of ill-treatment before deporting the first applicant, whether his detention complied with the requirements of Article 5 ECHR and whether his deportation disproportionately interfered with the applicants’ right to respect for family life under Article 8 ECHR.