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The European Court of Human Rights has ordered Russia to protect two Britons sentenced to death in eastern Ukraine. The death penalty should not be fully carried out, prison conditions guaranteed and needed medical assistance provided. According to the announcement on Thursday, the court based in Strasbourg demanded this in an allegedly temporary measure.
According to the court, interim measures are binding and are only imposed rarely and when there is a probable risk of irreparable damage. However, Russia will no longer adhere to decisions made in Strasbourg.
The Supreme Court of the eastern Ukrainian separatist region of Donetsk three weeks ago sentenced the two Britons and a Moroccan serving as mercenaries to death in the ranks of the Ukrainian armed forces. The two Britons were captured by pro-Russian forces in mid-April in the southeastern Ukrainian port of Mariupol. According to the court, both had been with their partners in Ukraine before the war and had been part of the military since 2018.
According to the court, Russia should now inform about the steps taken within two weeks. Ukraine should also ensure that the rights of the British are respected as far as possible and inform the court within the same period. Two weeks ago, the Human Rights Court made a corresponding request to Russia, also with regard to the convicted Moroccan.
The European Court of Human Rights, based in Strasbourg, France, is part of the Council of Europe. The bodies, which are independent of the European Union, work together to protect human rights in the 46 member states. Although Russia was expelled from the Council of Europe because of the war of aggression against Ukraine, it will remain a party to the European Convention on Human Rights until September 16.
The Russian leadership, on the other hand, does not see itself bound by the guidelines from Strasbourg. “You know that Russia is no longer complying with the rules of the European Court of Human Rights,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday, according to the Interfax agency. This also applies to the action taken against the express prisoners of war, whom Peskov described as “mercenaries”. Their fate will be decided by the leadership in Donetsk.