The decision was rendered on Thursday by the National Court of Asylum (CNDA). It is a first in France concerning Russian army deserters.
France can now grant refugee status to Russian soldiers who have refused to fight in Ukraine, according to this doctrine adopted by the National Court of Asylum (CNDA) on Thursday, July 20. “Russians fleeing mobilization for the war in Ukraine and those mobilized who have deserted can obtain refugee status,” the CNDA stated in a press release.
The decision is justified because “a Russian national called up as part of this mobilization is likely to commit, directly or indirectly, war crimes.” This doctrine, the first in France concerning Russian army deserters, is based on a European directive dated December 13, 2011, and a ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union on February 26, 2015.
A request rejected for lack of evidence However, the CNDA also rejected the asylum request of a Russian who claimed to be a deserter, stating that “the statements and documents provided did not establish that the applicant had been mobilized in the context of the war in Russia in Ukraine.”
“Russians fleeing mobilization for the war in Ukraine and those mobilized who have deserted can obtain refugee status,” the CNDA stated in a press release, because “a Russian national called up as part of this mobilization is likely to commit, directly or indirectly, war crimes.”
