Y.F.C. AND OTHERS v. THE NETHERLANDS
Doc ref: 21325/19 • ECHR ID: 001-194745
Document date: June 25, 2019
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Communicated on 25 June 2019
FOURTH SECTION
Application no. 21325/19 Y.F.C. and Others against the Netherlands lodged on 20 April 2019
SUBJECT MATTER OF THE CASE
On 11 April 20 1 9 the applicants, who are all Venezuelan nationals, were apprehended in the territorial waters of Curaçao . That same day they were issued decisions denying them entry, declaring them undesirable aliens, announcing their expulsion and ordering their placement in immigration detention to ensure their departure. After the applicants had lodged an objection, a procedure concerning protection under Article 3 of the Convention was started which is currently still pending. The applicants raise complaints under Articles 3 and 5 §§ 1 (f), 2 and 4 of the Convention in relation to their detention, and under Article 4 of Protocol No. 4.
QUESTIONS TO THE PARTIES
1. Have the applicants exhausted all effective domestic remedies, as required by Article 35 § 1 of the Convention?
2. Have the applicants been subjected to inhuman or degrading treatment whilst in detention, in breach of Article 3 of the Convention?
2a. Are the applicants enabled to go outside and get fresh air and, if so, with what frequency and for how long?
2b. Are the applicants free to decline to meet with Venezuelan consular staff whilst in detention?
2c. Is an investigation being or has it been conducted, and, if so, by whom, into the incident of 9 June 2019 in the course of which some of the applicants were allegedly hit by rubber bullets fired by a police special team?
3. Are the applicants deprived of their liberty in breach of Article 5 § 1 of the Convention? In particular, does the deprivation of liberty fall within the first or second limb of paragraph (f) of this provision?
4. Is the applicants ’ detention “in accordance with a procedure prescribed by law”?
5. What action, if any, is being and/or has been undertaken to remove the applicants to Venezuela?
6. Were the applicants informed promptly, in a language which they understood, of the reasons for their arrest, as required by Article 5 § 2 of the Convention?
7. Did the applicant have at their disposal an effective and accessible procedure by which they could challenge the lawfulness of their detention, as required by Article 5 § 4 of the Convention?
8. Did the decisions of 11 April 2019 of the Minister of Justice to expel the applicants amount to a violation of Article 4 of Protocol No. 4?
8a. The Government are requested to make available to the Court audio and/or written records of the interviews held with the applicants on 11 April 2019.
APPENDIX
No.
NAME
Birth year
Nationality
Place of residence
Representative
Y.F.C.
1980Venezuelan
Willemstad
M. Elzinga-Soumah
F.C.C.
1980Venezuelan
Willemstad
M. Elzinga-Soumah
J.M.A.
1976Venezuelan
Willemstad
M. Elzinga-Soumah
J.R.A.
1985Venezuelan
Willemstad
M. Elzinga-Soumah
R.T.M.
2002Venezuelan
Willemstad
M. Elzinga-Soumah
N.M.O.
1974Venezuelan
Willemstad
M. Elzinga-Soumah
C.V.S.
1992Venezuelan
Willemstad
M. Elzinga-Soumah