European Court recognizes human rights violations in Crimea as widespread

Ukraine was able to prove in the European Court of Human Rights that Russia is pursuing a systematic policy of human rights violations in the occupied Crimea.

This was reported by the ECHR Commissioner Margarita Sokorenko, Radio Liberty reports.

According to her, the court recognized that the violations were not isolated incidents in 2014 or 2015, but are a constant practice that began with the seizure of the peninsula and continues to this day. The massive scale of these violations is directly related to the implementation of Russian legislation in the annexed territory.

As of today, 1101 individual lawsuits from Ukrainian citizens related to human rights violations in Crimea have been registered with the ECHR. About 60% of them relate to the expropriation of property. The Ministry of Justice of Ukraine does not act as a representative of these citizens, but joins the cases as a third party at the request of the court.

Back in 2014, the Ukrainian Ministry of Justice filed an interstate complaint with the ECHR against Russia regarding systematic harassment on the peninsula, including violations of the right to property. In June 2024, the court ruled in favor of Ukraine. It recognized both the seizure of Crimea and the subsequent imposition of Russian legislation as illegal.

After the start of the full-scale aggression, Russia intensified its campaign to seize property. In 2023, the so-called Crimean authorities announced the"nationalization" of more than 2,500 properties, including the property of Ihor Kolomoisky, the building of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people, and real estate associated with the family of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Ukraine and the international community unanimously qualify these actions as illegal appropriation of another's property. Kyiv assures that after the de-occupation of Crimea, all "nationalization" decisions will be canceled and the property will be returned to its rightful owners.

Meanwhile, official Moscow explains the seizure of assets as necessary to finance the war against Ukraine.

Ірина Глухова