Five lawsuits Ukraine v. Russia registered at European Court of Human Rights

“In 2018, we filed two new interstate lawsuits against Russia over violation of the rights of political prisoners and captured Ukrainian sailors at the European Court of Human Rights,” Ukrainian Justice Minister Pavlo Petrenko posted on Facebook.

At present, the minister noted, five lawsuits Ukraine v. Russia are pending at the European Court of Human Rights, namely: "Ukraine v. Russia (on Crimea)" over human rights violations in Crimea as a result of the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation; "Ukraine v. Russia (on Donbas)" over human rights violations in certain areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions; "Ukraine v. Russia" over the facts of the abduction of orphans and disabled children by representatives of the "Donetsk People’s Republic" and "Luhansk People’s Republic" terrorist groups in Donetsk and Luhansk regions and their illegal or actual transfer to the territory of Russia; "Ukraine v. Russia" over the violation of the rights of Ukrainian political prisoners by Russia; and "Ukraine v. Russia" over capture of the Ukrainian sailors.

Petrenko recalled that the first lawsuits over the violation of human rights by the Russian Federation on the territory of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk regions had been filed at the ECHR back in 2014-2015.

According to him, those lawsuits underwent preliminary examination, were transferred to the Grand Chamber and combined according to the geographical principle: those related to the occupied territory of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the events in Donbas.

“In addition, a tentative date of oral hearings of the lawsuits was set for 2019. The first hearings within the framework of the lawsuit “Ukraine v. Russia” over the human rights violations in Crimea will be held at the ECHR on February 27,” Petrenko noted.