MOSCOW, July 22. /TASS/. The first ever complaint in the history of interstate relations filed by the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) against Ukraine over the 2014 events will bring the Ukrainian authorities and their European patrons to their senses, Vice Speaker of Russia’s Federation Council Konstantin Kosachev vowed on Thursday.
"This is the first action by the Prosecutor General’s Office within the scope of its new powers pursuant to the amendments to the law ‘On the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Russian Federation,’ which the Federation Council approved on June 23 this year. In this sense, the complaint is historic. However, I am convinced that it may have historical consequences by its scope," the senior Russian senator wrote on his Facebook.
Hopefully, the European Court of Human Rights will act swiftly on this complaint like it does when it examines Russian matters, Kosachev said, adding that "the ECHR hands down extremely politicized verdicts too frequently, marching in lockstep with the line of thinking of European politicians."
The Russian senator citied the data of human rights advocates, which indicated that "10,650 complaints regarding violations of citizens’ rights were submitted to the ECHR during the course of the civil armed standoff in Ukraine and 8,000 of them are related to Crimea and Donbass, including 7,000 on Donbass. Moreover, 6,000 complaints were solely against Ukraine."
"However, not a single complaint related to the conflict in Donbass was examined," Kosachev pointed out.
"But the delivery of such a detailed and substantiated complaint will surely bring many top officials and military commanders in Ukraine, as well as their European patrons to their senses. However, it would be more correct to call them panderers who now dance to NATO’s tune and cover for Kiev’s authorities who have made a real rotten mess of things," Kosachev maintained.
Perpetrators won’t be able to brush Russia’s complaint aside easily
Russia has something to tell any court of law and the entire world about what has actually been taking place in Ukraine over the recent years in contrast to the narrative of anti-Russian resolutions passed by European structures, the senior Russian senator stressed.
"One should not think that those named in the complaint and numerous lawsuits are not afraid that their cases will be examined in the legal field, and they will easily brush aside the news about the petition filed by the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office," Kosachev said.
Kiev "is perfectly aware of the crimes that Ukrainian law enforcement and the cutthroats of the ‘voluntary battalions’ are committing and are very much afraid that all these things will surface with strong evidence in some judicial panels," the senior Russian senator emphasized.
"Then, these Western patrons will also feel very uncomfortable to justify the actions of those whose hands are stained with the blood of children, the elderly and women of Donbass. The mole of history is burrowing slowly but surely, especially if it is being assisted by such an authoritative institution as the Prosecutor General’s Office of Russia," Kosachev said.
Today, a very important step has been taken towards the triumph of justice and law in relation to the events of the past few years in Ukraine, he stressed.
"On July 22, the Russian Federation appealed to the European Court of Human Rights with an interstate complaint against Ukraine based on Article 33 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms," the press service of the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office said.
The Prosecutor General’s Office noted that it refers to events that followed the coup in Ukraine in February 2014.
"The appeal is intended to draw the attention of the European Court and the entire global community to the blatant and systematic human rights violations by the Ukrainian authorities, record the numerous instances of criminal acts in the international legal framework, force Ukraine’s authorities to stop committing them, conduct a proper investigation and immediately bring the perpetrators to justice, in addition to restoring peace and harmony in Ukraine," the Prosecutor General’s Office stressed.