Expert of the Crimean Tatar Resource Center Borys Babin stressed that the decision of the European Court of Human Rights in the case Ukraine v. Russia refutes the thesis of Russian propaganda about the so-called expression of the will of the Crimeans in the referendum and proves that Crimea has been under the control of the Russian Federation since February 27, 2014.
“This decision means that while the joint case Ukraine v. Russia is considered by the ECHR on the merits of the requirements and it is highly likely that the Russian Federation will be found responsible for most of the alleged violations of the rights of Crimeans, committing war crimes by the Russian Federation in Crimea and for the process started by Ukraine in the UN International Court of Justice on the violation of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination by the Russian Federation in Crimea”,- the expert stressed.
Borys Babin noted that the new decision of the ECHR refutes the thesis of Russian propaganda about the so-called expression of the will of the Crimeans in the referendum, because it proves that Crimea on February 27, 2014 was under the effective control of the Russian Federation due to the military occupation of the peninsula. Therefore, this decision will significantly complicate the promotion of the Russian Crimea idea in all countries of the Council of Europe, even those loyal to the Russian Federation.
Speaking about individual statements against the Russian Federation, the lawyer explained that the current interim decision, among other things, will significantly revitalize this process. According to the expert, it is especially important that the ECHR has already recognized the Crimean courts as those that do not meet the requirements of the Convention, and therefore proceedings in them cannot be defined as an effective remedy in a significant part of situations.
Babin noted that most likely in 2021, the ECHR will begin communication with many applicants on the Crimean cases and in a few years the first decisions on them can be expected.
The expert of the CTRC, commenting on the possible reaction of the Russian Federation, added that today's decision is an intermediate one, and therefore the question of its implementation does not arise yet. However, the refusal of the Russian Federation to comply with the final decision of the ECHR will undoubtedly entail additional sanctions from civilized countries of the world, complicate the international positions of the Russian Federation.