The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has ordered the Russian government to pay 1.2 million euros ($1.6 million) to 13 Chechens, 18 of whose relatives were killed during an artillery bombardment of a Chechen village in February 2000.
In its ruling, the ECHR said residents of the village of Aslanbek-Sheripovo had received assurances from the Russian Army that there would be no strikes on the village as long as no armed fighters were present.
The ECHR said the case represents the first time that the Russian government had acknowledged a violation of Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which regards the use of lethal force.
The ruling can be appealed. Russia fought two separatist wars in Chechnya in the mid-1990s and early 2000s.
In its ruling, the ECHR said residents of the village of Aslanbek-Sheripovo had received assurances from the Russian Army that there would be no strikes on the village as long as no armed fighters were present.
The ECHR said the case represents the first time that the Russian government had acknowledged a violation of Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which regards the use of lethal force.
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The ruling can be appealed. Russia fought two separatist wars in Chechnya in the mid-1990s and early 2000s.