We Are Outraged by the ECHR’s Decision to Strike Out 879 Applications Against Russia

On 3 September 2026, the European Court of Human Rights struck out 879 applications against the Russian authorities that were still pending before the Court. More than 1,500 people and organisations were applicants in these cases. 

They include:

— victims of bombings during the Second Chechen War;

— relatives of those who died in 2011 on the Kolskaya drilling platform;

— residents of the village of Vremenny in Dagestan, whose homes were deliberately destroyed during the “counter-terrorist operation” in 2014;

— relatives of journalist and human rights defender Timur Kuashev, who was killed by Russian security services in 2014;

— relatives of Syrian national El-Ismail, who was brutally tortured and killed by Wagner PMC fighters in 2017;

— and many, many others.

The earliest of the applications now “thrown in the bin” was lodged with the Court 19 years ago, in 2007.

The only cases against Russia that will now remain under consideration are interstate and individual applications relating to armed conflicts in Ukraine and Georgia.

The Court justified its decision on purely bureaucratic grounds: since Russia is no longer a member of the Council of Europe, it saw no reason to “continue to expend significant judicial resources” on considering the remaining cases.

It is true that the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms allows the Court to discontinue a case “if it is no longer justified to pursue the application”. But there is an important qualification: proceedings must continue “if respect for human rights as defined in the Convention and the Protocols thereto so requires”.

Convenience or saving resources cannot, in itself, justify refusing to deliver justice, even when the state concerned has been expelled from the Council of Europe and refuses to cooperate with the ECHR or comply with its judgments.

Russia’s expulsion from the Council of Europe does not remove its obligation to comply with judgments handed down in cases that were lodged before its expulsion. The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe has repeatedly reminded the Russian authorities of this.

The ECHR’s decision to strike out the remaining cases deprives many people of the opportunity to seek justice and obtain official recognition that their rights have been violated. Such recognition is not merely a means of providing moral support to victims. It is also an important record of these violations for the future and for democratic reforms in the country.

This decision by the ECHR is one of the most shameful in the entire history of the Court. It deals a devastating blow to the authority of the Court, the Council of Europe as a whole, and the international human rights protection system.

Yet the ECHR first failed, without sufficient justification, to consider their cases in a timely manner, and has now decided to absolve itself of that responsibility altogether. Moreover, the Court’s decision contributes to the state practice of concealing human rights violations and political repression.

At the same time, the Council of Europe has consistently refused to take decisive steps towards creating effective mechanisms for paying compensation already awarded in cases against Russia. 
Concrete measures have long been proposed, including in Memorial’s submissions to the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe. We propose establishing a special fund within the Council of Europe system, along with mechanisms for recovering compensation from Russian state assets held abroad. This would be an unusual and extraordinary step requiring political will, but there are sound legal grounds for it.

Unfortunately, the Council of Europe has shown that it is not prepared to continue the fight and defend the rights of victims of Putin’s regime. That is the easier option: there is no need to show legal courage, find new solutions or stand up to a state that has become accustomed to getting its way through force and blackmail.

We, however, will continue the fight. Human rights matter more than any bureaucratic considerations.

Council of the Memorial Human Rights Defence Centre

5 September 2026