ECHR to hear case concerning fate of 10 Ukrainian children after Russia's annexation of Crimea

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) will hold a public hearing on 22 September in a case concerning 10 Ukrainian children who were living in childcare institutions when Russia seized Crimea in 2014.

The case was brought by the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union (UHHRU), which says the children were forcibly given Russian citizenship before being put up for adoption, and that some may have since been adopted.

Ahead of the hearing, Thórdís Kolbrún Reykfjord Gylfadóttir, Special Envoy of the Council of Europe Secretary General on the situation of children of Ukraine, said the case is a reminder of the need to keep Ukrainian children at the heart of the political agenda.

"Behind every case is a child whose fate matters, whose identity must be protected, and whose whereabouts must be known. We must not stop asking questions and demanding answers," she said.

The applicants state that after Russia established de facto control over Crimea, it kept the children in institutions, withheld information about their whereabouts, and placed them within Russian adoption or foster care systems.

They argue that this breached the children's right to liberty and security under the European Convention on Human Rights.

The UHHRU also argues that the arbitrary change of the children's citizenship and the publication of their details on adoption websites failed to respect and protect their social identity as Ukrainian citizens and violated their right to privacy and family life under the European Convention on Human Rights.

The court will rule on the admissibility and merits of the case at a later date.

In September, the European Court of Human Rights threw out an application brought against Ukraine by a Donetsk woman who complained that attacks by the Armed Forces of Ukraine had destroyed her flat.

In July, the ECHR ruled that Russia had violated property rights and the right to a fair trial in a case concerning the seizure of land from owners in occupied Sevastopol.