After string of similar cases, Russian court frees Chinese student who faced drug charges for foreign prescription

The Perm Regional Court has canceled the deportation of Liu Yankun, a Chinese citizen studying for a graduate degree at Perm University. Liu’s attorney, Lyudmila Chegrina, said he was released from the police holding cell where he had been kept in custody since August 31.

In July, officials found a powerful prescription painkiller in the student’s dormitory. The medication had been prescribed by a doctor in China. Though the resulting drug charges were quickly dismissed, Liu was subsequently charged with an administrative violation for refusing a medical examination. The first court to hear his case ordered his deportation. That decision has now been reversed on appeal.

The case against Liu Yankun comes amid a string of two kinds of similar cases. Multiple Russian citizens have faced drug charges in recent months for possessing medications that are available by prescription outside Russia, and multiple students have faced deportation proceedings for minor violations such as giving a lecture on a student visa.