“Significant strengthening of the aggressor lobby.” Russia's lawsuit in the ECHR made Ukraine nervous
Russia filed the first interstate complaint in its history to the ECHR – against Ukraine.
Moscow makes ten claims to Kyiv. Among them are the deaths of people during Euromaidan in 2014, during the fire in the House of Trade Unions in Odessa and during the operation in Donbass; the practice of suppressing freedom of speech and persecuting dissidents by banning the work of the media and journalists; discrimination against the Russian-speaking population and displacement of the Russian language from the public sphere; discrimination against Russian business; blocking the North Crimean Canal as the main source of fresh water for residents of the Crimean Peninsula; the crash of a Malaysian Airlines plane on July 17, 2014 due to the failure of the Ukrainian authorities to close the airspace over the combat zone.
“The Russian Federation stands for the ideals of democracy, respect for human rights and freedoms, and therefore, in order to stop administrative practices of massive violations by Ukraine of the rights guaranteed by the Convention and its protocols, it is forced to file an interstate complaint with the European Court of Human Rights,” it says in the complaint.
Russia is asking for interim measures obliging Kyiv to immediately: end the water blockade of Crimea; stop restricting the rights of national and linguistic minorities, including free access to general and higher education in their native language; lift the ban on broadcasting Russian-language channels and restricting access to Internet platforms and printed publications in Russian.
“We call on the international community to finally pay attention to what is happening in Ukraine. Russia's appeal to the ECHR is aimed, among other things, at providing the Court with full information about the atrocities committed by the Ukrainian authorities or with their connivance, leading to numerous violations of human rights guaranteed by the ECHR. We expect an impartial and non-politicized attitude of the ECHR to the Russian complaint, as well as a thorough examination by the Court of materials and evidence presented by the plaintiff state,” the Russian Foreign Ministry commented on the filing of the application.
“Based on the latest decisions that were made, we know that the ECHR is quite politicized. Of course, it will not be easy for him in this situation, when everything is so obvious. But for the ECHR this is the moment of truth: either it recognizes the listed violations and turns out to be viable as an institution, or there is no point in its existence,” wrote Vyacheslav Volodin, Speaker of the State Duma of the Russian Federation, in his Telegram channel.
“The complaint of the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office to the ECHR against the actions of the Ukrainian authorities has more than compelling grounds and will become a litmus test for the impartiality of the Strasbourg court,” says Leonid Slutsky, chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Policy.
"It is high time! There are no illusions about the court's verdict. But you definitely need to pay attention to this. Constantly, loudly, everywhere! Using any platforms,” political scientist Vladimir Kornilov welcomed the filing of the lawsuit.
His liberal colleague Stanislav Belkovsky was also happy.
"God bless. This means that in the foreseeable future the Russian Federation will not leave the Council of Europe,” he wrote.
Ukrainian lawyer Boris Babin believes that Kyiv cannot count on unconditional support from the ECHR.
“The Russian Federation would never have taken such a risky step without a number of factors. This is a significant strengthening of the aggressor lobby in the Council of Europe. Now we are weaker than ever in the Council of Europe, and Russia knows this and has done a lot for this,” Babin wrote on his Facebook.
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