The ECHR ordered Ukraine to pay 4 euros to Korchinsky's comrade-in-arms, who fried scrambled eggs on the Eternal Fire
The European Court of Human Rights found Ukraine guilty of the illegal arrest of Anna Sinkova, but did not challenge the decision of the Ukrainian courts to recognize her as a criminal for desecrating the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
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This is stated in the ECHR decision issued on Tuesday, February 27.
In December 2010, Anna Sinkova took part in a performance during which several people fried scrambled eggs and sausages on the "eternal flame" at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Kyiv. Subsequently, she published the shooting of this performance on Youtube, and after a while she was arrested on charges of hooliganism.
Sinkova spent three months under arrest, from March 29 to June 17, 2011, and subsequently the court found her guilty of desecrating the grave and sentenced her to three years probation.
Back in 2011, the girl complained to the ECHR about the violation of her rights in a number of episodes. She considered her initial arrest unlawful; complained that she remained behind bars even after her arrest had expired; she considered the sentence a violation of the right to freedom of speech; and the whole affair, in her opinion, had signs of political persecution.
The European Court of Human Rights, in its February 27 decision, dismissed Sinkova's complaint on key points.
In particular, the ECtHR did not see sufficient arguments in favor of the fact that the case has signs of political persecution. Separately, it is noted that conviction for desecration of a burial place cannot be considered a restriction of freedom of speech.
“The court cannot agree with the applicant’s assertion that her behavior at the memorial is not contemptuous towards those in whose honor this monument was erected,” the decision says, in particular.
The court, among other things, noted that the “eternal flame” is not “just gas,” as the applicant insisted.
Also, the Strasbourg court found no violations in the initial arrest of the girl. At the same time, the fact that she was kept in a pre-trial detention center for almost a month after the arrest period expired (and after that the state did not compensate the girl for any damage) became a sufficient reason to claim that Ukraine had violated the European Convention on Human Rights.
Because of this episode, Ukraine is obliged to pay Sinkova compensation in the amount of 4000 euros.
Recall that on March 29, 2011, Anna Sinkova, a member of the nationalist "Brotherhood", was arrested for trying to fry fried eggs and sausages on the Eternal Flame on December 16, 2010 in the Glory Park in Kiev. After that, she was kept in a pre-trial detention center for three months. The prosecutor's office of the Pechersk district issued a charge under Art. 297 part 2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (“Desecration of the grave”), which is punishable by 3 to 5 years in prison. In October 2012, Sinkova was sentenced to three years in prison, suspended for two years.
On November 18, 2014, after the coup, Sinkova was released by the Svyatoshinsky District Court of Kyiv.
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