On Thursday the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled against Ukraine in connection with the clashes in Odesa related to the pro-European Union protests held at Maidan Square in 2013-2014. The court determined that Ukrainian authorities had failed to take all necessary measures in the related investigations and, in multiple instances, violated the right to respect for private and family life, according to Hungary's state news agency (MTI).
The case stems from events following the 2014 government change in Kyiv, when pro-Russian, anti-Maidan activists—opponents of the Kyiv protests—set up a tent camp in Odesa. On May 2, Kyiv-aligned Ukrainian radicals dismantled the camp, and subsequently
set fire to the Trade Unions House, where their opponents had sought refuge.
According to Ukrainian sources, the riots were sparked when two pro-Kyiv protesters were shot by unidentified individuals.
Citing the ruling, Russia's RIA Novosti news agency highlighted that authorities should have implemented security measures but failed to do so.
On the contrary, the government acknowledged that law enforcement agencies ignored available intelligence and relevant warning signs, preparing instead for an ordinary soccer match. No effort was made to deploy additional police forces or take substantive measures to prevent the clashes,
– the ruling emphasized.
The court further noted that police inaction during the riots was a well-known fact. “The arrival of fire trucks to the scene was deliberately delayed by 40 minutes, and the police did not intervene to assist in the swift and safe evacuation of people from the burning building. As a result, the state failed to take timely rescue measures,” the judges emphasized.
The ECHR ordered Ukraine to pay compensation for the victims of the riots.
The Odesa riots resulted in nearly 300 injuries and a total of 48 fatalities: six people were shot, 32 died from smoke inhalation, and ten perished after jumping from the burning building.
In its Thursday ruling, the Strasbourg-based human rights court, operating under the supervision of the 46-member Council of Europe, recalled that the relevant complaint was filed by 28 affected individuals. Among them, 25 lost close relatives either in the clashes or in the fire at the Trade Unions House. Three applicants suffered injuries but survived the fire, the court noted.
The court concluded that authorities had violated the right to respect for private and family life in multiple instances by failing to take all reasonable measures to prevent the clashes on May 2, 2014, and to stop the violence once it erupted. The ruling also declares that they did not take sufficient action to rescue people trapped in the burning building or to conduct an effective investigation into the events.
The court further found that, in the case of one applicant, authorities had violated the right to respect for private and family life by significantly delaying the release of his father’s body for burial.
A step toward justice
Russian Human Rights Commissioner Tatyana Moskalkova called the ECHR’s condemnation of Ukraine for failing to prevent the 2014 Odesa violence a step toward justice for the victims and their families.
It took more than ten years for the seven-judge panel of the European Court of Human Rights to rule that Ukrainian authorities were responsible for the deaths of people in Odesa on May 2, 2014. Moreover, the decision is unconvincing... But Ukraine is guilty, and this is a step toward justice for the victims and their families, who have waited so many years for this day,
– Ms. Moskalkova wrote on her Telegram channel.
The ECHR ruling directly points to who is truly responsible for the Odesa tragedy. This is an unprecedented case in which the West has begun to legally acknowledge the guilt of the Kyiv regime, which seized power in Ukraine after the 2014 coup,
– Vladimir Rogov, the co-chair of the Coordinating Council for the Integration of New Regions, told Russia's RIA Novosti
According to Mr. Rogov, the ECHR's decision is a bad sign for Kyiv because “it shows that the presumption of unlimited indulgence is failing, and they will have to answer for their crimes—not only to their own citizens and Russia, but also to the West.”
Cover photo: Mourners lay flowers at the burned Trade Unions House, where many lost their lives (Photo: AFP)
