Slivenko case reopened in Latvia

  • 2004-08-12
  • By The Baltic Times
RIGA - The Supreme Court Senate on Tuesday ordered a retrial of the case of Tatyana and Karina Slivenko after the European Court of Human Rights earlier satisfied 12 of the claims filed against the state by the minority plaintiffs.

The case will again have to be looked into by the Administrative Regional Court.
The European court ruled that the state had violated the Slivenko family’s human rights by expelling them from the country.
Latvia was ordered to pay 20,000 euros in compensation to the family, which had filed for 400,000 euros.
The money has already been transferred.
The court, however, did not rule that the state should return the Slivenkos the apartment they were living in. Nor did the court rule that Latvia must renew the Slivenkos’ residency permits, though the two have been granted long-term residency permits since their infirm parents still reside in Latvia.
The Slivenko family was deported from Latvia in 1994 along with the withdrawal of former Soviet troops and was forced to move to live in Kursk, Russia.
In 1996 the Riga Regional Court annulled their personal identification codes and ordered the expulsion the former Soviet army officer’s family. A number of appeals by the Slivenkos and the Riga Regional Court followed, but the Supreme Court finally left the initial ruling in effect in 1998.