The European Court of Human Rights ordered Finland on Wednesday not to deport a disabled woman hospitalized in Helsinki back to Russia.
Irina Antonova, 82, was hospitalized on Tuesday morning a day before her scheduled deportation to Russia.
"The court has ordered the government of Finland not to deport the plaintiff to Russia until further notices from the court," a spokesman for the court's press service told RIA Novosti.
The appeal against the deportation of Antonova was motioned to the Strasbourg Court by Johan Backman, who is the family's official representative.
The elderly woman, who suffered a stroke and cannot take care of herself, was brought to Finland from Vyborg, Russia, by her daughter, Natalia Kaarik, a Finnish citizen, in February 2008.
She arrived in Finland on a guest visa, which has since expired.
Although the woman has no relatives in Russia, Finland's migration service ruled that she could not be permitted to stay in the country and must be deported for violating visa regulations.
Kaarik said, however, that the court's decision is not the desired result for the family as they had expected more.
"I have just learned about the court's decision. Of course my revolt with the acts of the Finnish authorities increased. For us, the suspension of the deportation is not the result. First of all, it is all about my mother's health. We need a citizen's permit. It is still undecided whether Finnish authorities will grant it [the permit] and how it would all happen," she said.
A number of human rights activists and politicians, including Finnish President Tarja Halonen, have criticized migration officials over the decision.
On May 31, thousands of people took to the streets in Helsinki to protest the earlier deportation decision.
PARIS, June 16 (RIA Novosti)
