The European Court of Human Rights has found Russia guilty in a joint case that combines complaints from Ukraine and the Netherlands against the Russian Federation regarding numerous human rights violations during the war and the shooting down of flight MH17 in Donbas. This is reported on site ECHR.
The court's decision was announced today, July 9. The Russian side did not appear for the announcement of the decision, and was absent from all previous hearings.
The ECHR decision concerns four cases:
- Ukraine v. Russia (No. 8019/16) – violations during the armed conflict in Donbas, including the downing of MH17, torture, forced labor, etc.;
- Ukraine v. Russia (No. 43800/14) – abduction and illegal transfer of Ukrainian children to the Russian Federation in 2014;
- Netherlands v. Russia (No. 28525/20) – circumstances and consequences of the downing of flight MH17;
- Ukraine v. Russia (No. 11055/22) – gross human rights violations during the full-scale invasion since February 24, 2022.
The court, in its decision, recognized that it had jurisdiction over these complaints regarding events that occurred before September 16, 2022, when Russia's membership in the Council of Europe ceased.
The court also found the Russian Federation guilty of human rights violations that occurred in the occupied territories before and after February 24, 2022.
These include the killing of civilians and prisoners of war, deprivation of liberty, inhumane treatment, the use of torture, ignoring the consequences of its strikes on the civilian population, the systematic practice of suppressing Ukrainian identity, including through the education system, the deportation of Ukrainian children and adult civilians deep into the occupied territories, etc.
The court also found that flight MH17 over the Donetsk region was shot down by a Russian Buk air defense system and that Russia is responsible for making this possible.
ECHR Judge Mykola Hnatovsky commented on the important decision and explained the logic that guided the court in assessing specific complaints.
"History should show the importance of the decision. There will be many comments. Today I will only thank fate for the opportunity to be part of this court and draw attention to the logic that guided the court in assessing specific complaints and interpreting the convention," — noted Hnatovsky.
According to him, the court emphasized that Russia's actions in Ukraine are unprecedented in the history of the Council of Europe. In its opinion, the nature and scale of the violence, as well as the ominous statements of the leadership of the respondent state regarding Ukraine's statehood, its independence and its very right to exist, pose a threat to peaceful coexistence in Europe and are aimed at undermining the foundations of democracy.
“In no previous conflict examined by the Court has there been such unanimous condemnation by the international community of the respondent State’s flagrant disregard for the principles of the international legal order established after the Second World War, nor such clear measures taken by the Council of Europe to sanction that State’s disrespect for the fundamental values of the Council of Europe,” — he added.
