A Russian court has waived immigration rules for a Briton who spent two weeks inside a St. Petersburg airport with an expired residence permit.
Stephen John Beard, 64, has reportedly lived in Russia since 2010, where he married a native of Siberia’s Irkutsk region and had a son. St. Petersburg’s news outlets reported he put off renewing his residence permit when it expired along with his British passport in July 2018.
For fear of getting a five-year entry ban after being kept from flying to London to reset his immigration status, Beard spent two weeks in St. Petersburg’s Pulkovo Airport trying to avoid immigration authorities.
He “slept on semi-soft armchairs in the second-floor waiting room and learned to take light showers in the public restroom,” St. Petersburg’s Fontanka news website reported.
In an interview with the city’s 78.ru news website, Beard said he feared not being able to return to Russia to be with his 7-year-old son.
St. Petersburg’s Moscow District Court judge cited the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) in ruling to let him stay with his family, the court system’s press service told Interfax.
Judge Yelena Sokolva said that deporting Beard “would have violated the rights and interests of not only the deportee, but also members of his family.”
In the end, he got away with a fine of 5,000 rubles ($76).
A Message from The Moscow Times:
Dear readers,
We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."
These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.
We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.
Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.
By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.
Remind me later.
