The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), seized in urgent procedure, demanded on Friday July 1st the Russian government to respect the rights of Ukrainian prisoners of war.
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The institution, watchdog of human rights on the European continent, was seized by a young Ukrainian woman, resident of Mykolaiv (southern Ukraine), whose husband, Yaroslav Anatoliyovych Oliynichenko, is allegedly held as a prisoner of war by Russian forces.
Number two in his combat unit, he was reportedly captured in Mariupol, in southern Ukraine.
“Provisional measures”
His wife collected eyewitness accounts of torture allegedly inflicted on Ukrainians while they were held by Russian forces in one of the POW camps where Yaroslav Anatoliyovych Oliynichenko is also believed to be held.
The applicant therefore asked the Court, which sits in Strasbourg, to instruct the governments of the Russian Federation and Ukraine to locate her husband, ensure his protection and release him.
Article 39 of the rules of the ECHR allows it to order “
provisional measures
” when the applicants are exposed to “
a real risk of irreparable damage
”.
The Court therefore decided to indicate, under "
provisional measures
", to the Russian government to respect the conventional rights of Yaroslav Anatoliyovych Oliynichenko, and to provide him with medical assistance if necessary, just as it asked the Ukraine to ensure that these rights are respected.
“Serious and imminent risk”
She asked Russia to confirm the capture of Yaroslav Anatoliyovych Oliynichenko within a week, and to specify the conditions of his possible detention.
"
These interim measures apply to any request made on behalf of Ukrainian prisoners of war in the hands of Russian forces for whom sufficient evidence has been provided that they are exposed to a serious and imminent risk of irreparable damage to their physical integrity and/or their life
,” the court wrote in a statement.
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The demands of the ECHR could however find little echo with Moscow since the lower house of the Russian Parliament, the Duma, adopted several amendments at the beginning of June which lead Russia to no longer apply the decisions of the ECHR rendered after March 15. .