ECHR finds Russia guilty of violating the Right to Peaceful Assembly in Crimea
On 20 January, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) delivered its judgment in the case Bekirov and Others v. Russia, concerning violations of the right to peaceful assembly with regard to 43 applicants who were residing in Crimea at the time of the events.
This was reported by the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union.
“The case Bekirov and Others v. Russia is the first judgment on the merits in individual cases related to the armed conflict that clearly illustrates the existence of an administrative practice of persecuting Crimean residents and systematically violating Convention rights following Russia’s occupation of the peninsula. This decision not only establishes Russia’s responsibility for the human rights situation in Crimea, but also enables the applicants to seek compensation in the future,” the Union stated.
Most of the applicants were Crimean Tatars who, between 2014 and 2017, took part in protest actions against persecution by the Russian occupation authorities or in support of Ukraine. Administrative charges were brought against all of them; some were detained, while “courts” found them guilty and imposed fines or administrative arrest.
The applicants complained of violations of Articles 10 and 11 of the Convention, which guarantee freedom of expression and freedom of peaceful assembly, as well as violations of procedural rights (Article 6) and arbitrary detention (Article 5 § 1).
The ECHR emphasised that Russian legislation cannot be regarded as lawful in Crimea, and that any administrative measures based on it are therefore illegal.
“There is no doubt that these measures constituted an interference with the applicants’ right to freedom of peaceful assembly,” the Court noted.
The Court also recalled the existence of a systemic practice of banning public assemblies and intimidating pro-Ukrainian activists and Crimean Tatars.
“The measures taken against them formed part of a system aimed at intimidating the local population, in particular members of the Crimean Tatar community, and suppressing pro-Ukrainian sentiment,” the ECHR stressed.
As a result, Article 11 of the Convention was found to have been violated in respect of all applicants.
Earlier, the European Court of Human Rights delivered unprecedented judgments in two cases concerning applications lodged by Ukraine against Russia.
