The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has ruled that Russia violated the procedural aspect of Article 2 of the Convention (the right to life) by taking “no meaningful steps” to clarify the circumstances of the death of Dutch photojournalist Stan Storimans, who was killed while covering the 2008 Russo-Georgian War.
Stan Storimans, a cameraman for Dutch television, was killed on August 12, 2008, in what appeared to be a missile strike in Gori, a Georgian town bombed during the Russo-Georgian war, while two of his colleagues – Jeroen Akkermans and Tsadok Yecheskeli – were injured. In the case Storimans-Verhulst and Others v. Russia, the applicants were represented by lawyers from the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA), a local human rights watchdog, and the Dutch organization Stichting Justice Initiative.
The 2008 investigation mission ordered by the Dutch Foreign Ministry concluded that Storimans was killed in a strike on Gori carried out with an Iskander missile armed with cluster munitions. The report noted that the missile type was found only in the Russian arsenal. The findings were sent to the Russian Defense Ministry, which replied that the data provided by the Dutch investigation were “insufficient to determine the provenance of the fragments that had apparently caused Mr. Storimans’ death or to conclude that he had been killed as a result of weapons used by the Russian side.” No further investigative steps were taken after 2009.
“Despite the gravity of these allegations and the evidence provided by the Dutch investigation, the Russian authorities took no meaningful steps to clarify the circumstances of the incident, and limited their response to general denials and requests for further evidence,” the Court said in an October 7 ruling.
“Even assuming that they did open an inquiry into the matter, as claimed, they failed to pursue a meaningful criminal investigation, and ultimately took no concrete investigative measures after transferring the matter to the military-crimes unit, which, moreover, was based in the conflict zone, thereby limiting the applicants’ access to any such investigation,” the Court added.
The Court unanimously held that Russia pays EUR 10,000 to Storimans’s widow and children in respect of non-pecuniary damage, and EUR 10,000 each to Akkermans and Yecheskeli for non-pecuniary damage.
The Court declared the applicants’ complaints under the substantive limb of Article 2 of the Convention inadmissible.
Also Read:
- 21/01/2021 – European Court Verdict into Georgia vs. Russia Case over 2008 War
- 24/10/2008 – Russia Rejects Dutch Conclusions on Journalist’s Death
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