ECHR considering two suits against Russia over events in Crimea and eastern Ukraine – Justice Ministry
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) is considering two lawsuits lodged by Ukraine against Russia due to the events in Crimea and Donbas, whereas other international courts are demanding the preliminary consent of Russia, Ukrainian Justice Minister Pavlo Petrenko has said.
"The ECHR currently has two lawsuits. There is a large one, which foresees violation of the rights of soldiers, journalists, and we supplemented it with the economic part of it," he told journalists in Kyiv on Tuesday.
He said that about a month ago, the Justice Ministry tabled in ECHR the supplements to this lawsuit, which concerned the economic part of the demands.
"The amount is UAH 1.18 trillion. These are the losses that were calculated for limiting the right to use property," he said.
Petrenko said that this was a comprehensive application that concerns the compensation of damages caused by the Russian side to Ukraine.
"This statement was also signed by non-governmental organizations, in particular, trade unions and religious organizations. The ECHR has currently received supplements to the application, and the procedure for preliminary examination of them is underway," he said.
He also noted that a second lawsuit at ECHR concerned the transportation of children from the area of the anti-terrorist operation (ATO).
"We will also bring this case to an end, because it is important for us in terms of the political aspect. As part of this case we will demand that the involvement of the Russian side in terrorist organizations be recognized. A preliminary decision has already been made in this case, when Russia was obliged to return children to Ukrainian territory," Petrenko said.
He also recalled that the ECHR had issued a judgment establishing the illegality of stay of the Russian army in Crimea and ordering Russia to withdraw its troops.
"They have not fulfilled this decision. But this decision is the foundation of the process connected with compensation for losses," he said.
