The applicant, a national of the Russian Federation, applied for international protection in Czechia after the refusal to extend her residence permit, claiming a fear of persecution because of her sexual orientation and her opposition to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the government. On 14 April 2025, the Ministry of the Interior (the Ministry) refused to grant the applicant international protection, finding no risk of persecution and considering that the purpose of the application was to legalize the applicant's residence in Czechia. The applicant challenged the decision before the Regional Court in Brno.
By judgment of 30 January 2026, the Regional Court in Brno annulled the Ministry's decision and remitted the case for re-examination. The court stated that grounds for international protection can also arise sur place, after the applicant arrived in Czechia. Regarding the sexual orientation, the court affirmed that the LGBTIQ community in Russia constitutes a particular social group and that the applicant had not been persecuted in Russia because she was hiding her sexual orientation. Referring to the EUAA's The Russian Federation: Country Focus – Country of Origin Information Report (December 2025), the court noted that the LGBTIQ community in Russia faces systematic repression, even if homosexuality as such is not criminalized, and the situation of the LGBTIQ community had significantly deteriorated after 2022.
Regarding the political opinion, based on the EUAA's The Russian Federation: Country Focus – Country of Origin Information Report (December 2025), the court noted that even isolated expressions of dissent can lead to punishment, demonstration participants had been systematically identified, tracked and punished, criticism of the war against Ukraine and expression of solidarity with Ukraine is treated as serious political dissent and criminalized, online activity and transfers of financial aid for Ukraine are monitored, and Russian returnees are a group of the government's interest. The applicant participated in demonstrations in support of Ukraine and provided aid to Ukrainian refugees.
The Regional Court in Brno held that the Ministry erred in focusing on the fact that the applicant had not been persecuted in Russia in the past, and should have instead assessed the risk of persecution prospectively, in accordance with the reasonable likelihood standard, individually and cumulatively, based on the interplay of the two asylum grounds: sexual orientation and political opinion. The court ruled that in the applicant's case, the cumulation of these two grounds satisfied the standard of proof and established a reasonable likelihood of persecution.
The Ministry lodged a cassation complaint with the Supreme Administrative Court. By decision of 10 July 2026, the Supreme Administrative Court rejected the Ministry's cassation complaint as inadmissible and upheld the judgment of the Regional Court in Brno, which it considered to be clear, sufficiently reasoned and consistent with the established case law.