Blog 4 : Illegally Evicted With No Compensation

Sergei Khlistov and his family consisting of his wife, daughter, son-in-law, and two grandchildren ages 4 and 8 were all illegally evicted from their home in Sochi due to the construction of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games. And to place a bigger burden on the family they were given no compensation for the demolition. Sergei has been living in his modest two-story house for 16 years, but at 5 p.m. on September, the 19^th he and his family were removed by court bailiffs so the demolition could go underway. The bailiffs stayed and supervised the act while the family members and journalist could do nothing but watch. Jane Buchanan which is the senior researcher for the Europe and Central Asia Division noted that, “The home demolition and forced eviction of this family with young children is a tragedy that was completely avoidable, and the 2014 Winter Olympic Games are tarnished by this needles human suffering.” Buchanan also adds that the IOC had plenty of time to ensure that the authorities did not go to such lengths in the name of Olympic construction, but instead the IOC took a “wait and see” approach based on false assurances from the local authorities.

Even though in Russia forced eviction and demolition violates their obligations under international human rights law the demolition still took place, this family was still robbed of what had been their home for years. Also under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights, the Russian government is obliged to respect and protect the rights of all its people from interference in their home and family life. The question remaining is if there are all these laws and things the government is obliged to do how can something of this nature still take place.

 

http://www.hrw.org/news/2012/09/19/russia-forced-eviction-tramples-olympic-ideals