The European Court of Human Rights determined that Russia engaged in extensive human rights abuses since its invasion of Ukraine in 2014. Between May 2014 and September 2022, the court found overwhelming evidence of unlawful conduct including extrajudicial killings, sexual violence, forced labor, and torture. The ruling indicated a systematic pattern of actions that aimed to dismantle democratic foundations and individual freedoms. Ukraine deemed the ruling historic, while Russia dismissed the court's findings and asserted it would not comply with the judgment.
The court found evidence of widespread and systemic use of sexual violence, accompanied by acts of torture, such as beatings, strangling or electric shocks.
Civilians and prisoners of war were subjected to mock executions, the severing of body parts and electric shocks, including to intimate areas of their bodies.
The court's grand chamber considered the actions of Russia to seek to undermine the very fabric of democracy and disregard the rule of law.
Ukraine hailed the judgment as historic and unprecedented, describing it as an undeniable victory against abuses perpetrated by Russia.
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