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.
