For numerous Ukrainian political captives, Russia’s actions following its Crimea takeover have been categorised as “torture”, asserts the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). The court established that as a response to seizing the peninsula from Ukraine in 2014, Russia initiated a systematic campaign of human rights abuses by targeting and undermining Ukrainian advocates and religious heads in Crimea.
On Tuesday, the ECHR, a division of the Council of Europe based in Strasbourg, delivered judgement that Russia had infracted upon the Ukrainians’ entitlement to liberties like freedom of speech, assembly, and religion, as well as their right to a just trial in the area.
Ukrainian political detainees had been subjected to severe human rights breaches by law enforcement and security forces which included beatings, electrocution, and staged executions to coerce information, as per the court’s evidence. These abuses were classified by the court as torture.
Ukraine lodged a case claiming Russian oppression of Ukrainians was a segment of an oppression campaign that followed its annexation of the Black Sea peninsula. In its submission, the Ukrainian government accused Russia of a raft of human rights infringements including illegal incarceration, convictions without fair trials, and crackdown of Ukrainian media and the teaching of Ukrainian language in schools.
The court concluded that there was “ample evidence” to decisively conclude a “pattern” of violations had been present, amidst a “clampdown” on political opposition. The seizure of Crimea and the onset of combat between Russian-supporting separatists and Ukrainian forces in the Donbas region coincided largely. The discord intensified following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in its entirety in February 2022.
Notably, the court reported 43 documented instances of individuals in Crimea vanishing between 2014 and 2018, with 8 still unaccounted for. The ruling highlighted that earlier briefs suggested that among those abducted and mistreated were Ukrainian soldiers, journalists and activists. Further, it reported harassment of religious heads such as Ukrainian Orthodox priests and shutdown of Ukrainian media outlets.
The court revealed that over 12,000 prisoners had been transported from Crimea to penal colonies and more facilities situated in Russian lands. In a significant verdict, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) commanded Russia to send back those detainees who had been moved from the disputed region to Russian facilities. The government of Ukraine, in legal submissions to the court, argued that other political prisoners had been seductively drawn into Russian territory where they faced detention and torture, before being accused of concocted crimes.
Despite these claims, the Russian authorities dismissed any insinuations of human rights abuse as unfounded and unclear. The court highlighted that due to Russia’s non-compliance, it was forced to depend on information provided by civic organisations and firsthand accounts put forward by Ukraine during its judgement.
Separately, on Tuesday, there were developments at the International Criminal Court which issued arrest warrants for Sergei Shoigu, ex-Russian defence minister, and Valery Gerasimov, a top Russian general, citing supposed violations committed throughout Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
This marked the issuance of the eighth warrant since Russia deployed its military to Ukraine in February 2022. These include one for President Vladimir Putin, who has been indicted over the forced displacement of Ukrainian minors to Russia.
This action by the court was positively received by Kyiv; however, Moscow dismissed it as legally null. According to the Netherlands-based court, both Mr Shoigu and Gen Gerasimov were believed to have committed war crimes and crimes against humanity by directing onslaughts on civilians and non-military objects within Ukraine. Additionally, Reuters supplied further reporting.