22 July 2021 - Rossiyskaya Gazeta
Written by Mikhail Falaleev
Translated by Elizaveta Ovchinnikova
President of the International Police Association Russian Section (IPA RS), Lieutenant General, Doctor of Law, Professor, Honoured Lawyer of the Russian Federation Yury Zhdanov commented on the first ever interstate complaint of the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Russian Federation to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) against Ukraine on the events of 2014:
- We have learned how to use the ECHR platform effectively. This is a change in the trend when the ECHR was previously considered as a tool to fight us. But we can also use the European human rights structures. To do this, you need to be sure that you are right and have proper qualification in the field of international law.
It is quite possible that the transition to an aggressive stance is connected with the following measures. Recently, the Deputy Prosecutor General for International Affairs has been appointed and the Prosecutor’s Office has become the representative for the protection of the Russian Federation’s interests in foreign courts.
The complaint is intended to draw the attention of the European Court and the entire world community to the gross and systematic violations of human rights by the Ukrainian authorities, to fix numerous facts of criminal acts in the international legal field, to force the Ukrainian authorities to stop committing them, to conduct a proper investigation and immediately bring the perpetrators to justice, as well as to restore peace and harmony on the territory of Ukraine. Part of the claims of the Russian Federation is related to violations committed by the Ukrainian authorities directly against Russian citizens, among whom there are deceased and wounded. On the territory of Ukraine, a significant number of Russian citizens are subjected to ill-treatment, their property is destroyed or damaged and Russian businesses are discriminated against. In the immediate proximity of the Russian border, the armed forces of Ukraine are fighting, creating a real threat to the life and health of Russian citizens living in the border regions. They are also forcing thousands of Ukrainian citizens to seek refuge on Russian territory.
The document contains a detailed description of the process of unconstitutional change of power in Ukraine and the promotion of nationalist forces into Ukrainian government bodies. This was the main reason for the subsequent mass violations of the Convention and its Protocols.
The complaint filed a petition for the application of interim measures by the ECHR under Rule 39 of the Regulations, obliging Ukraine to immediately stop such flagrant violations as blocking the flow of fresh water to the Crimea, restricting the rights of national and linguistic minorities, including free access to general and higher education in their native language, banning the broadcasting of Russian-language television and radio channels, restricting access to Internet platforms and printed publications in Russian.
Russia’s step in protecting compatriots who are being discredited abroad can only be welcomed. The laws adopted in Ukraine actually force Russian people to ‘ukrainise’ themselves. It is obvious that this is a state form of discrimination against citizens. Against the backdrop of the US authorities’ decisions in support of fellow citizens of the Negroid race, the actions of the Ukrainian authorities look not only like the forced ‘ukrainisation’ of Russians but also as the suppression of dissent. This can lead to serious internal conflicts in Ukraine since Russians constitute a significant number of this country’s citizens.