The European Court judged that Russia, as the de facto controlling power in Transnistria, is responsible for the unlawful actions of the separatist authorities.
Russia must pay approximately 40,000 euros in damages to Oleksandr Lypovchenko and Oleg Halabudenco, reports BalkanInsight. The Ukrainian Lypovchenko was arrested in 2015 after criticizing the Transnistrian regime and was sentenced by the unrecognized court in 2016 to three and a half years in prison.
The other plaintiff, Halabudenco, holds Moldovan nationality and was, among other things, a lecturer at a university in Tiraspol. He was arrested in 2016 and imprisoned on charges of accepting bribes from a student. He was released after posting bail, which was later revoked. In the meantime, he left Transnistria and did not return because he feared the regime.
The European judges ruled that the Russian Federation must pay 26,000 euros to Lypovchenko and 6,500 euros to Halabudenco in damages, and 4,000 euros to each plaintiff for costs and expenses.
However, Russia announced in March 2022, shortly after the military invasion of Ukraine, that Moscow would no longer comply with rulings from the European Court of Human Rights.