Key points
- The ECHR found Russia guilty of human rights violations in the occupied territories, including the abduction, torture and forced deportation of Ukrainians.
- The ECtHR's decision in the case of Ukraine and the Netherlands v. Russia sets an important precedent in international law, highlighting Russia's responsibility for the downing of MH17.
- Ukrainian experts have begun to analyze the 500-page verdict, which has had international resonance.
ECHR Recognizes Russia's Crimes / Getty Images
The Ministry of Justice of Ukraine called the decision of the European Court of Human Rights in the case “Ukraine and the Netherlands v. Russia” historic and unprecedented. The ECHR found Russia guilty of numerous human rights violations in the occupied territories.
This was reported by 24 Channel , citing a statement by the Ministry’s Commissioner for ECHR Affairs, Margarita Sokorenko.
ECHR points out Russia's crimes
Margarita Sokorenko noted that this decision was the longest in the history of the announcement of decisions of the Court. The ECHR recognized the unprecedented nature of the events that became the subject of consideration and confirmed Russia's desire to destroy Ukraine as a state. Now Ukrainian specialists are preparing a detailed analysis of the 500-page decision.
According to the Court's conclusion, Russia has been involved in abductions, unlawful arrests, detention of civilians, torture and cruel treatment of both civilians and prisoners of war. The policy of forcibly removing Ukrainians from the occupied territories, including children, and the systematic restriction of the use of the Ukrainian language have also been recognized.
The MH17 case and the international resonance
The ECHR also recognized the violation of the rights of relatives of those killed in the MH17 crash, shot down over Donbass. Margarita Sokorenko emphasized that such a verdict is important not only for Ukraine, but also for other states, because it creates an important precedent in international law.
The Ministry of Justice reported that they have already begun work on an extensive analysis of the verdict, which is approximately 500 pages long.
We fought hard for these conclusions, and they prove that truth and justice triumph over any propaganda, Sokorenko noted.
Recall that the ECHR found Russia responsible for the downing of flight MH17 in 2014, which resulted in the deaths of 298 people. The court found that Russia violated international law during the armed conflict in Ukraine, and is considering four cases filed by Ukraine and the Netherlands against Russia. Russia was absent from the court hearing, as in previous hearings, and is excluded from the Council due to its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
