Russia loses ECHR case of human rights violations in Crimea

According to an Ukrinform correspondent, the court ruled that there had been violations of Articles 2 (right to life), 3 (prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment), 5 (right to liberty and security), 6 (right to a fair trial), 7 (no punishment without law), 8 (right to respect for private and family life), 9 (freedom of religion), 10 (freedom of expression), 11 (freedom of assembly), 14 (prohibition of discrimination) and 18 (limitation on use of restrictions on rights) of the European Convention on Human Rights, and Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 (protection of property), Article 2 of Protocol No. 1 (right to education) and Article 2 of Protocol No. 4 (freedom of movement) to the European Convention.

The court also held, unanimously, that the Russian Federation had failed to comply with its obligations under Article 38 (obligation to furnish necessary facilities for the examination of the case) of the Convention.

Lastly, the Court held, unanimously, under Article 46 (binding force and implementation of judgments), that Russia had to take measures as soon as possible for the safe return of the relevant prisoners transferred from Crimea to penal facilities located on the territory of the Russian Federation

The court considered that it had sufficient evidence – in particular intergovernmental and nongovernmental organization reports, corroborated by witness testimony and other material – to conclude beyond reasonable doubt that the incidents had been sufficiently numerous and interconnected to amount to a pattern or system of violations. Moreover, the apparent lack of an effective investigation into the incidents and/or the general application of the measures to all people concerned, among other things, proved that such practices had been officially tolerated by the Russian authorities.

Since 2022, Russia has stopped participating in ECHR proceedings although it bears responsibility under judgments on complaints filed before September 2022.