18 months ago an action by activists of the anti-Maidan movement turned into a tragedy, as Ukrainian radicals stood against them. About 50 people died in a fire in the building of the House of Unions, where they tried to hide from militants of the extremist group Right Sector. The trial over the extremists has been going on for a year, but without enthusiasm. Court hearings have been extended many times; at the moment sentences have been passed down on only six out of more than twenty defendants. Yesterday the International Advisory Group of the Council of Europe presented a report on the investigation into the tragedy in Odessa in May 2014.
The EU report states that the investigation into the events in Odessa by Kiev didn’t match the standards of the European Human Rights Convention. The Council of Europe believes that the drawbacks of the investigation prevented finding those who were guilty; no serious progress was achieved; there was no independent investigation into the tragedy.
Moscow expressed solidarity with the authors of the report, calling it a precise contribution to international efforts by the Council of Europe for providing an independent investigation into the tragic events.
“The document actually states that, under the current circumstances, it is impossible for the Ukrainian authorities to conduct an independent and effective investigation into the mass deaths of people during the events in Kiev during the 'Euromaidan' from November 2013 to February 21st 2014, and in Odessa on May 2nd 2014. The reason for this situation is that the investigating authorities, security forces, the Interior Ministry, the Emergencies Ministry and the courts of Ukraine are dependent on the authorities which were involved in these tragedies. Particular concern is caused by the fact that a year and a half after the deaths of 48 people in the fire at the Odessa House of Trade Unions, surrounded by militants of the banned in Russia Ukrainian extremist organization 'Right Sector', accusations about a number of active participants in those events were not submitted, the investigation into many episodes has not started, a number of pieces of evidence on this case were destroyed, and the ongoing investigation is one-sided, fragmentary, contradictory, and it is unlikely that it will lead to the truth,” Maria Zakharova, Representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, said.
Moscow believes that it is necessary to objectively examine the current report of the International Advisory Group under the auspices of the Council of Europe on the tragic events in Odessa at one of the next meetings of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, as well as the report on the measures which were taken by the Ukrainian side following the first report of this group on the investigation into the events in Kiev during the 'Euromaidan' from November 2013 to February 21st 2014, and to take the necessary recommendations.
Zakharova urges the Ukrainian authorities, other Member States of the Council of Europe, to fully support the work of the International Advisory Group under the auspices of the Council of Europe until the end of the investigation being carried out by the Ukrainian authorities into mass violations of the European Convention on Human Rights in this country.
