The European Court of Human Rights will rule on Tuesday in a case over alleged Russian abuses in the Ukrainian-occupied Crimean peninsula in the Black Sea.
Ukraine, which took the case to the European Supreme Court, says Russia has repeatedly violated human rights in Crimea since February 2014, when Moscow annexed the territory in violation of international law.
The Strasbourg court’s decision on Tuesday is not about the annexation itself, but about Russia’s actions in its aftermath.
Ukraine’s allegations include unlawful detentions, mistreatment of civilians and the suppression of Ukrainian media and the Ukrainian language in schools.
Russia refuses to recognize the court’s rulings.
The country was expelled from the Council of Europe by Moscow after the large-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. As a result, it is no longer a member of the European Convention on Human Rights, which is upheld by the court in Strasbourg.
However, the court can still rule on incidents that occurred before Russia’s expulsion. The case in question on Tuesday dates back to March 2014.
The Council of Europe is an institution independent of the European Union.
