OREANDA-NEWS  The Russian-speaking society in Finland, the Alexander Society (Aleksanterinliitto), reported that it is collecting documents for filing an appeal to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) regarding the decision of the Finnish authorities to close the border with Russia.

The Finnish Interior Ministry reported on April 4 that the government had decided to extend the closure of the border with Russia until further notice.

According to the society, the Supreme Administrative Court of Finland (KHO) refused to consider an appeal against the government's decision to close, thus giving it the opportunity to appeal "to higher authorities."

"We are currently collecting documents and working with lawyers to appeal the KHO decision directly to the ECHR," the company's Telegram channel says. It is also emphasized that the appeal is scheduled to be filed at the end of May 2024.

The society also emphasizes that last week it filed an appeal against the last, indefinite decision of the Finnish government to close the border with the Russian Federation on April 4 in order to "avoid a formal rejection of the claim" to the ECHR.

On Saturday, the Alexander Society reported that it had appealed to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Finnish Border Guard service with a request to allow relatives to return to Russia through Estonia.

The Finnish government's decision of September 30, 2022 restricted the entry of Russian citizens for the purpose of tourism, including tourist transit through Finland to other Eurozone countries.

The border between Finland and Russia is closed by decision of the Finnish authorities until further notice. Finland began imposing restrictions on border crossings in November 2023 amid an uncontrolled flow of refugees from third countries. Finnish authorities have repeatedly accused Russia of purposefully sending asylum seekers to the border. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova rejected accusations against Russia of involvement in the migration crisis in the European Union, calling them double standards of the West.

The press secretary of the President of Russia Dmitry Peskov, commenting on the closure of the Finnish checkpoints on the border with the Russian Federation, noted that the Russophobic position, which the leaders of this neighboring country have now begun to adhere to, is deeply regrettable. Peskov stressed that Russian border guards comply with all instructions, "those who have a legitimate right to do so use the border crossing," and far-fetched accusations are unacceptable to Moscow.