• AstroStelar [he/him]@hexbear.net
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    4 days ago

    I looked up the judgement in question, here it is: https://www.echr.coe.int/w/judgment-concerning-ukraine-2

    It presents a picture of the authorities in Odessa not so much covering up violence by Maidan supporters (it looks at violence in Odessa more broadly rather than just the Trade Union Building fire) out of a political agenda, if anything they likely opposed it, Odessa was a stronghold of Yanukovich’ Party of Regions after all. Rather it was them covering up their own corruption and Uvalde-level incompetence:

    Moreover, the Court considered that the investigation into the events of 2 May 2014 had neither been opened promptly nor pursued within a reasonable timeframe. The authorities had caused prohibitive delays and allowed significant periods of unexplained inactivity and stagnation. For instance, although it had never been disputed that the fire service regional head had been responsible for the delayed deployment of fire engines to Kulykove Pole, no criminal investigation had been launched in respect of him for almost two years after the events. In the meantime, he had fled to the Russian Federation.

    The applicants’ victims include “Maidan supporters and opponents and, possibly, simple passers-by”, which suggests that the case always viewed it through that lens as well, rather than an explicit anti-Maidan one.

    They also found that: “The authorities had been no more diligent in investigating the deaths of pro-Maidan activists than investigating those of anti-Maidan activists.” The investigations were led by the local police and fire service and weren’t independent.

    The court presents a picture that generally both-sides the events in Odessa. My intention isn’t to be an authority on what happened, I actively avoid news about Ukraine. I just want to give more insight in what the court judgement actually says so people can react to it.