“EXILES” is a community of Russian-speaking lawyers providing legal assistance to migrants from Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, and other countries across Europe.
The community was founded by lawyers who themselves have appeared before European courts as applicants and have learned first-hand that the level of legal protection available to migrants remains critically low. Some cannot afford the fees charged by local lawyers; others do not receive legal assistance in a timely manner; still others face restrictions based on nationality. The result is systemic deprivation of legal rights, and addressing it is what we regard as our principal mission.
Who We Are
Mikhail Benyash (Lithuania), Dmitry Zakhvatov (Lithuania), and Timur Filippov (Norway) stands at the origins of the community, together with two colleagues who do not disclose their identities publicly. Following the public announcement of the launch of the community’s work, lawyers from Latvia, Germany, Slovenia, Ukraine, Georgia, and Latin America joined the initiative. We vet candidates by reviewing legal documents they have prepared and court decisions rendered in cases in which they participated.
Our principal areas of practice are immigration and employment law, as well as criminal defence, since the professional core of our team consists of criminal defence lawyers. We provide legal advice, prepare procedural documents—including complaints, statements of claim, appeals, and applications to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR)—and conduct cases jointly with local lawyers in jurisdictions where representation is reserved to members of the local bar.
At present, we operate on a fee-for-service contractual basis rather than through grant funding.
Our fees are set with due regard to clients’ actual financial means, as paid legal services provided by European lawyers are often beyond the reach of migrants.
Our track record includes securing the annulment by the Supreme Administrative Court of Lithuania of decisions of the Migration Department (including revocation of residence permits and refusals to issue residence permits); obtaining the termination, on exonerating grounds, of criminal proceedings against a refugee from occupied Zaporizhzhia; providing legal support in refugee and asylum cases; securing a stay of removal of a political refugee to Georgia; and obtaining international protection in Norway. Applications in a number of cases have been lodged with the ECtHR.