CEDH · CASELAW;JUDGMENTS;CHAMBER;ENG — 6 novembre 2018

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padding-right:5.03pt; padding-left:5.03pt; vertical-align:middle } .sEAD70FA9 { border-top-style:solid; border-top-width:0.75pt; border-right-style:solid; border-right-width:0.75pt; border-left-style:solid; border-left-width:0.75pt; padding-right:5.03pt; padding-left:5.03pt; vertical-align:middle } .s241BF43A { border-top-style:solid; border-top-width:0.75pt; border-left-style:solid; border-left-width:0.75pt; padding-right:5.03pt; padding-left:5.03pt; vertical-align:middle } .s52960E { margin-top:6pt; margin-bottom:0pt; font-size:8pt }       FOURTH SECTION           CASE OF BURLYA AND OTHERS v. UKRAINE   (Application no. 3289/10)                     JUDGMENT         STRASBOURG   6 November 2018   FINAL   06/02/2019   This judgment has become final under Article 44 § 2 of the Convention. It may be subject to editorial revision.   In the case of Burlya and Others v. Ukraine, The European Court of Human Rights (Fourth Section), sitting as a Chamber composed of:   Paulo Pinto de Albuquerque, President,   Ganna Yudkivska,   Faris Vehabović,   Egidijus Kūris,   Iulia Antoanella Motoc,   Marko Bošnjak,   Péter Paczolay, judges, and Marialena Tsirli, Section Registrar, Having deliberated in private on 2 October 2018, Delivers the following judgment, which was adopted on that date: PROCEDURE 1.     The case originated in an application (no.   3289/10) against Ukraine lodged with the Court under Article 34 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (“the Convention”) by nineteen Ukrainian nationals, whose particulars are set out in the Appendix (“the applicants”), on 11 January 2010. 2.     The applicants were represented by the European Roma Rights Centre, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) based in Budapest. The Ukrainian Government (“the Government”) were represented by their Agent, Mr I.   Lishchyna. 3.     The applicants alleged that the attack on their homes in the course of an anti-Roma “pogrom”, which the authorities had allegedly been complicit in or had at least failed to prevent or to investigate effectively, as well as their inadequate living conditions following their displacement as a result of that attack, had breached Articles 3, 8, 13, 14 of the Convention and Article   1 of Protocol No. 1. 4.     On 11 February 2016 the application was communicated to the Government. 5 .     The seventeenth and the eighteenth applicants had died on 16 October 2017 and 24 April 2013 respectively and certain individuals expressed their wish to pursue the application in their stead (see paragraphs 64 to 78 below). THE FACTS I.     THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE CASE 6.     The applicants are Ukrainian nationals of Roma ethnicity. Before 10   September 2002 the applicants lived in the village of Petrivka, Ivanivskyy District, Odessa Region (hereinafter also “the village”). They currently live in Berezivka District, Odessa Region. A.     The events of 7 to 10 September 2002 7 .     On 7 September 2002 a 17-year-old ethnic Ukrainian was murdered in the village, allegedly by a Romany man who was apparently convicted of the murder afterwards. It appears that this occurred in the course of an altercation between Romany men and other youngsters from the village at a local bar or dancehall. 8.     On 8 September 2002 a crowd of village residents gathered and demanded that the Roma be expelled from the village. According to the statement of the village mayor, Mr M.S., made in the course of a subsequent criminal investigation, the local officials attempted to defuse the situation and urged the villages not to do anything illegal. 9.     On the same day the village council met. Among those present were: a representative of the Ivanivskyy District State Administration (“the District Administration”) and the head of the Ivanivskyy District Police Department (“the District Police Department”). According to the minutes of the meeting submitted by the applicants, in his opening remarks the mayor said, inter alia : “... today a cruel crime was committed [in the village] by a group of residents of Gypsy ethnicity. One student of [the village high school] was murdered and three others were injured and are now in hospital in a serious state. This crime was made possible by the fact that no appropriate measures are being taken against them in the event of their [engaging in crimes]. Everybody knows that the spread of drug addiction, which is taking place in our village, is their fault. Today a meeting of villagers took place at which a negative opinion was expressed about the banditry and other [forms of crime] on the part of this category of people ... I invite the council members to speak responsibly and to express their opinion about the crime committed and about the decision of the villagers. I would like this meeting not to turn into something which aggravates inter-ethnic relations.” 10.     At the close of the meeting the council decided, in particular, to “support the decision of the meeting of the village residents to expel persons of Gypsy ethnicity from the village”. 11 .     On 9 September 2002 the village council met again. The heads of the District Administration and the District Police Department and the chairperson and members of the Ivanivskyy District Council were present. The village council examined the question of “bringing the decision of the village council [of 8 September] concerning the expulsion of the persons of Gypsy ethnicity into compliance with legal norms”. The head of the District Administration invited the village council members to carefully consider the wisdom of their decision, drawing a clear line between crime ‑ related problems and inter-ethnic relations. A council member, D., stated that whatever the wording of the decision it would have no legal consequences and that legal action against drug dealers would also be ineffective. In fact, it was not possible to keep the situation under control. D. furthermore stated that the neighbours of the Roma residents were saying that it was necessary to cut off their gas supply and to burn down the Roma’s houses. At the close of the meeting the village council decided to ask law enforcement authorities “to ensure the expulsion of socially dangerous individuals, regardless of ethnic origin, from the village”. 12 .     On the evening of the same day the mayor and the local police advised the applicants to leave the village, as a “pogrom” was about to start. Electricity and gas supplies to their houses were cut. Subsequently, in the course of the night of 9-10 September 2002 a crowd of several hundred people, allegedly led by a certain Mr   O.M., ransacked the houses belonging to the Roma, destroying their belongings. A number of police officers were present but did not intervene to prevent the looting and apparently concentrated solely on preventing human casualties. The house where the first applicant lived had burned down. According to the Government, the results of the expert analysis of the causes of the fire were inconclusive (see   paragraph 118 below). B.     The applicants’ statements concerning their particular situation 13 .     The applicants submitted a number of written statements from the applicants addressed to Ms Duducehava, the leader of a Roma association, and Mr Stoyanov, a lawyer who represented a number of applicants in the domestic criminal proceedings (see below). The statements bear various dates from 2004 and 2007, contain descriptions of the events of 7 ‑ 10   September 2002, and ask for help in dealing with the authorities. According to the general tenor of the statements, the applicants’ had been urged to leave by the police prior to the pogrom, and in their absence their houses had been ransacked by the mob – in particular, doors and windows had been smashed, and furniture and belongings destroyed or stolen. 14 .     According to the fifth applicant’s statement, dated 17 November 2007, she and the fourth applicant (her husband) had been away from the village at the time of the events and had only learned about them when they had returned on 20 September. She had had to sell her house “at half the price” (“ за полцены ”), as had other Roma victims of the pogrom. The seventh, eighth, thirteenth and sixteenth applicants’ statements, as well as the statements of some other former Roma residents of Petrivka, were similarly worded, speaking of the houses having been sold for less than their normal price (for instance, Mrs M. Burlya, the second applicant’s wife, characterised the price for which her house had been sold as “very cheap”). 15 .     The applicants submitted eight undated photographs showing the ruins of one or several houses, certain photographs showing signs of fire. The origin of these photographs is unclear. In her statement to Ms   Duducehava in 2004 the sixth applicant referred to certain photographs showing damage to her and her relatives’ houses. 16.     The seventh and eighth applicants stated that all the Roma had left the village before the attack started. 17 .     Applicants identified in the Appendix asserted in their statements to Ms Duducehava, Mr Stoyanov or to the police in the course of the subsequent criminal investigation that they had been away from the village at the time of the events of 7-10 September 2002 and of the attack and had only learned about it later. 18 .     In her statement to Mr Stoyanov dated 18 November 2007 the ninth applicant stated that she had been at home with her two granddaughters (aged ten and fifteen at the time) when the attack started. Stones had started flying through the windows, four attackers had broken down the door and started shouting, and the older granddaughter had pleaded with the attackers not to kill them. The attackers had not touched the applicant or her granddaughters; the applicant had then fled. However, in her statement to the police dated 26 September 2002 this applicant stated that she had fled the village prior to the attack and had returned the next day to find her home ransacked. In her statement (addressed to Ms Duducehava) and dated 13 June 2004 this applicant complained of having been expelled from her home but did not mention that she had personally witnessed any attack. C.     Aftermath of the events 19.     According to a report published on 20 September 2002 in the regional newspaper Porto Franko and information given at a press conference held on 12 September 2002 by the Secretary of State ( Державний секретар ) for the Ministry of the Interior and by the head of the Odessa Regional Police Department (“the Regional Police”), police officers had been present in force and had observed the attack. However, they had not attempted to prevent or stop it, apparently concentrating solely on preventing casualties. 20.     The events were reported in a number of regional and national newspapers. 21.     The applicants alleged that after the attack they had had to move to another town and live with family and friends in overcrowded and inadequate conditions. D.     Criminal investigation 22.     On 10 September 2002 the Ivanivka district police initiated criminal proceedings against persons unknown on suspicion of disorderly conduct committed in a group ( хуліганство вчинене групою осіб ). 23 .     On 10 September 2002 police investigators from Ivanivka, Berezivka, and several other districts conducted on-site examinations of the damaged houses in Petrivka (which included the taking of fingerprints). A regional police investigator conducted further on-site examinations in December 2002 and January 2003. 24 .     On 12 September 2002 it was decided to constitute an investigative team composed of a senior investigator from the regional police department and investigators and other police officers from the Ivanivka district and three other districts. 25.     From 12 September to 9 October 2002 the regional police investigator obtained a number of expert opinions concerning the material found on the scene (notably assessing the damage there). 26 .     On 20 September 2002 an officer of the Ivanivka police questioned neighbours of some of the applicants. Those neighbours stated that on the night of the attack they had seen around 150 and 300 people near the applicants’ houses. 27.     From 23 September 2002 to 27 January 2003 at least sixty village residents, including O.М. and P.M. (who were later accused by the applicants’ representative Ms Duducehava of having a role in the attack ‑ see paragraph 36 below), were questioned by the police – four of them by Ivanivka police officers and the rest by the regional police investigator. The villagers generally stated that there had long been tensions in the village between the Roma and non-Roma populations (many mentioning that this was connected with the alleged involvement of Roma residents in the drug trade), and that on the night of 9 September 2002 several hundred individuals had ransacked the houses of the Roma residents. This had been done to ensure that Roma would be expelled from the village. Some expressed approval of the attackers’ actions (as having been triggered by the authorities’ inaction against the drug trafficking), but denied that they had personally taken part in the attack. 28.     The police also questioned a number of applicants, who gave statements largely consistent with the account of events set out in paragraphs 7-17 above. 29 .     On 14 November 2002 a certain Mr V. – apparently a Roma and a Petrivka resident at the time – was questioned. He stated that on 9   September he had been called in to Ivanivka district police station and told that residents of Petrivka would be attacking Roma houses. Upon learning this, he returned to the village and helped to evacuate his family, as well as other Roma residents, to another village. 30 .     The police recognised the applicants listed in the Appendix as having the official status of aggrieved parties or of civil claimants (see paragraphs   53 and 54 below). 31 .     In January 2003 (in the summary provided by the Government the relevant dates seem to be misstated as being in January 2002 and January 2007) the regional police investigator questioned three officers of the “Berkut” special police unit. They stated that about 2,000 persons had participated in the pogrom. They had asked the officers not to interfere in their actions. They had entered the houses and asked the individuals there not to resist and to leave. 32.     In February 2003 the police obtained an expert opinion in an attempt to identify the voices on a video cassette. It appears that the video cassette contained a recording of a meeting of village residents held before the pogrom. The expert concluded that no voice could be identified owing to the poor quality of the recording. 33.     On 4 February 2003 the police suspended the investigation for failure to identify the perpetrators. On 17 February 2003 the regional prosecutor’s office ordered that it be resumed. 34 .     On 20 February 2003 the Ivanivsky district prosecutor’s office (“the DPO”) refused to institute criminal proceedings against the village council’s officials for lack of constituent elements of a crime in their actions. 35 .     On 1 April 2003 the regional police investigator suspended it again. 36 .     On 27 February 2005 Ms Duducehava, the chairperson of Romani Zbora, an NGO, wrote to the Odessa regional prosecutor’s office asking it to institute criminal proceedings against the persons who had participated in the attack and the officials who had allowed it. Specifically, she named Mr   O.M., Mr P.M. and Mr I.D., all of whom, she alleged, had incited the attack; she named M.S., the chairman of the village council, and O.V., the head of the district police department, as being among the officials who had allowed it. She named the first fifteen and the seventeenth to nineteenth applicants as persons whose property had been damaged, summarising their statements to her (see, in particular, paragraph 13 above). 37 .     On 28 March 2005 the Odessa regional prosecutor’s office informed Ms Duducehava that an investigation into disorderly conduct had been initiated and suspended on 1 April 2003 but that operational measures were being taken to identify the perpetrators (see paragraph 58 below for a summary description of the legislative framework in respect of such measures). Twenty-three individuals, including those whose statements had been added to Ms Duducehava’s complaint, had been recognised as aggrieved parties or civil claimants. Concerning the failure of the police to prevent the disorderly conduct in question, the head of the Regional Police had imposed disciplinary sanctions on the police officers at fault. 38 .     On 21 November 2005 Mr I.   Stoyanov, a lawyer representing a number of the applicants, complained to the President of Ukraine and the Prosecutor General that the crime committed had been incorrectly classified as merely disorderly conduct, even though it could be characterised as an act of discrimination and mass disorder. The identity of the guilty parties was well known. 39 .     On 31 December 2005 the head of the regional police informed Mr   Stoyanov that the investigation had been suspended on 1 April 2003 and that the regional prosecutor’s office had examined the case and left the decision to suspend it in force. 40.     On 25 January 2006 the DPO informed Mr Stoyanov of the decision not to institute criminal proceedings against the village officials (see   paragraph 34 above) and stated that Mr Stoyanov could obtain information about the situation in the hooliganism case from the regional police, who were in charge of it. 41 .     On 27 January 2006 the Ivanivka district police took over the investigation in respect of the hooliganism case and decided to resume it. On 5 April 2006 they suspended it again. 42.     On 22 August 2008 Mr Stoyanov wrote to the Prosecutor General’s Office asking to be informed about the progress of the operational measures to identify the perpetrators and to be allowed to study the case file. 43 .     On 25 September 2008 the DPO informed Mr Stoyanov that the investigation had been lawfully suspended and that the aggrieved parties could only examine the case file once the investigation had been completed. 44 .     The applicants submitted a copy of a letter from the district police dated 13 July 2009 addressed to Mr Stoyanov. The letter informed Mr   Stoyanov, in response to his query, that on 10 February 2009 the investigation had been renewed and on 2 March 2009 suspended again for failure to identify the perpetrators. No reason for the alleged renewal was mentioned. The Government argued that the letter was not genuine (see   paragraphs 88 to 91 below). E.     Judicial proceedings 1.     Quashing of the village council’s decision 45 .     On 21 March 2003 the Ivanivskyy District Court (“the District Court”), having heard an appeal by the DPO, quashed the village council’s decision of 9 September 2002 on the grounds that it was contrary to the Constitution and had been taken under the pressure exerted by a crowd of angry villagers in order to calm them down and prevent the lynching of the Roma. 2.     Civil claim for damages 46 .     On 23 December 2005 the applicants (except the fourth and sixteenth) lodged with the District Court a civil claim for damages against the District Administration and the village council. 47 .     On 23 November 2007 the District Court rejected the applicants’ claim, holding that it fell within the jurisdiction of the Odessa District Administrative Court. No appeal was lodged. 3.     Administrative proceedings for the investigating authorities’ inaction to be declared unlawful 48.     On 3 May 2007 the first three and the fifth to nineteenth applicants lodged a claim seeking to have the failure of the DPO and the district police to investigate the incident declared unlawful. 49.     On 9 February 2008 the Odessa Circuit Administrative Court rejected the claim without considering it on the merits, holding that it fell outside the jurisdiction of the administrative courts. On 17 March 2008 the Odessa Administrative Court of Appeal upheld this ruling. 4.     Complaints to courts in the context of criminal procedure 50 .     On 5 June 2008 the District Court initiated proceedings concerning the claim brought by the first three and the fifth to nineteenth applicants under the Code of Criminal Procedure in which they challenged the decision to suspend the investigation. On 19 August 2008 and 8 April 2009 Mr   Stoyanov lodged additional complaints on behalf of the first to third, sixth to fifteenth and seventeenth to nineteenth applicants in these proceedings. In those complaints, they stated that they had never been questioned and had never been recognised as aggrieved parties ( потерпілі ). They asked the court to order the police to recognise them as such. According to the applicants, at the time of the application to the European Court of Human Rights the proceedings were still pending before the District Court and no decision had been made. II.     RELEVANT DOMESTIC LAW A.     Constitution of Ukraine 51.     Article 24 of the Constitution of Ukraine provides as follows: “... There shall be no privileges or restrictions based on race, skin colour, ... [or] ethnic or social origin ...” B.     Criminal Code of 2001, as worded at the material time 52 .     Articles 67, 161, 294, 296, 365 and 367 of the Code read as follows: Article 67. Circumstances aggravating a punishment “1.     For the purposes of imposing a punishment, the following circumstances shall be deemed to be aggravating: ... (3)     the commission of a crime on the grounds of racial, national or religious enmity or hostility; ...” Article 161. Violation of citizens’ equality on the grounds of their race, nationality or religious beliefs “1.     Intentional acts aimed at inflaming ethnic, racial or religious hostility and hate, or attacking ethnic dignity or insulting citizens in connection with their religious beliefs – as well as the direct and indirect limitation of rights or the conferring of direct or indirect privileges on the basis of race, skin colour, political, religious or other beliefs, sex, ethnic or social origin, property status, place of residence, language or other characteristics – shall be punishable by a fine of up to fifty times the level of monthly non-taxable income or by correctional work for a period of up to two years, or by restriction on liberty for a period of up to five years, with or without a prohibition on occupying certain positions or engaging in certain activities for up to three years. 2.     The same acts, where combined with violence, deceit, or threats or committed by a person in a position of authority, shall be punishable by correctional work for a period of up to two years or by imprisonment for up to five years. 3.     The acts described in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article, where committed by an organised group or if they have caused death or have resulted in other grave consequences, shall be punishable by imprisonment for two to five years.” Article 294. Mass disorder (rioting) “1.     Organisation and participation in mass disorder associated with violence against persons, pogroms, arson, destruction of property, occupation of buildings, [or] forceful expulsion of citizens... shall be punishable by five to eight years’ imprisonment. 2.     The same acts, where they led to death or other grave consequences, shall be punishable by eight to fifteen years’ imprisonment.” Article 296. Disorderly conduct (hooliganism) “1.     Disorderly conduct, namely a serious breach of public order motivated by flagrant disrespect for the community, combined with particular impudence and exceptional cynicism ... 2.     ... committed by a group of persons shall be punishable by a restriction on liberty for up to five years or imprisonment for up to four years.” Article 365. Excess of power or office “1.     Excess of power or office, namely the intentional commission of acts by an official which go manifestly beyond the scope of the rights and powers vested in him or her and which cause serious damage to the State or public interest or to the lawful interests, rights and freedoms of natural or legal persons shall be punishable by [the obligation to undertake] correctional works for a period of up to two years or by a limitation on liberty for a period of up to five years or by imprisonment for up five years and by a prohibition on occupying certain positions or engaging in certain activities for up to three years. ... 3.     Any actions provided by paragraph 1 or 2 of this Article, if they had any grave consequences, shall be punishable by seven to ten years’ imprisonment and by a prohibition on the right to occupy certain positions or engage in certain activities for up to three years.” Article 367. Neglect of official duty “1.     Neglect of official duty – that is to say failure to perform or improper performance on the part of an official of his or her official duties owing to negligence, where it causes any significant damage to the legally protected rights and interests of individual citizens, State and public interests or those of legal entities, shall be punishable by a fine amounting to between fifty and one hundred and fifty times the [level of monthly non-taxable] income or by correctional work for up to two years or by a restriction on liberty for up to three years and by a prohibition on occupying certain positions or engaging in certain activities for up to three years. 2.     The same act, if it has any grave consequences, shall be punishable by imprisonment for two to five years and a prohibition on occupying certain positions or engaging in certain activities for up to three years with or without a fine amounting to between a hundred and two hundred and fifty times the [level of monthly non-taxable] income.” C.     Code of Criminal Procedure of 1960 (in effect at the relevant time) 53 .     Article 28 of the Code provided that a person who had sustained pecuniary damage as a result of a crime could lodge a civil claim against an accused or persons liable for the actions of the accused. Article 50 required the investigator or the court to deliver a formal decision recognising the person as a civil plaintiff or refusing such recognition. 54 .     Article 49 provided that a person who had sustained non-pecuniary, physical or property damage as a result of a crime could be recognised as an aggrieved party. It required the investigator or the court to issue a formal decision recognising the person as an aggrieved party or refusing such recognition. 55.     Article 206 of the Code provided that a pre-trial investigation in a criminal case could be suspended, in particular, if the investigation had failed to identify the perpetrator. 56 .     Article 121 provided that any disclosure of information about pre-trial investigation had to be authorised by the investigator in charge of the case or the prosecutor. 57.     Under Articles 234-36 of the Code, the acts of an investigator could be appealed against to a prosecutor. The investigator’s acts and the decisions of the prosecutor in respect of complaints could also be appealed against before a court, but the latter would only examine them at the preliminary hearing of the case in question – that is to say after the relevant investigation had been completed and the case had been sent to court with a bill of indictment. D.     Operational-Search Activities Act of 1992 58 .     Section 2 of the Act describes operational search activities as a system of open and covert search, intelligence and counterintelligence measures. Section 8 provides that in the course of operational search activities the relevant law enforcement units can interview individuals, conduct controlled purchases, examine documents, enter and examine premises (including in a covert manner), infiltrate criminal groups, engage in wiretapping and surveillance, employ informers, create decoy companies and establishments,   etc. III.     RELEVANT INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTS 59 .     The relevant parts of the second report on Ukraine by the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI), adopted on 14   December 2001, read as follows: “56.     As is the case in some European countries, the Roma/Gypsy population of Ukraine is faced with situations of severe socio-economic disadvantage, but also with manifestations of prejudice, discrimination and violence on the part of the majority population and sometimes on the part of the authorities, particularly law enforcement officials. ECRI expresses concern at this situation and considers that policies are urgently needed to address the position of the Roma/Gypsy communities in Ukraine in order to ensure that the members of these communities enjoy in practice the same rights as the rest of the population of Ukraine. ECRI believes that the first necessary step towards developing an appropriate response to the problems faced by the Roma/Gypsy population of Ukraine is the recognition on the part of the authorities that such problems exist and that they need to be addressed ... ... 58.     Another priority area for action identified by ECRI is the behaviour of the law enforcement officials vis-à-vis members of the Roma/Gypsy communities. In this respect, ECRI notes with concern frequent reports of excessive use of force, ill ‑ treatment, verbal abuse and destruction of property by law enforcement personnel. Discriminatory practices are also reported to be widespread and include arbitrary checks, unwarranted searches, confiscation of documents and, as noted in ECRI’s first report, discriminatory enforcement of crime prevention policies targeting persons with criminal records. ECRI urges that action be taken to address manifestations of unlawful behaviour on the part of law enforcement officials generally, including through a more effective institutional response to such manifestations and through training and awareness raising measures. In addition, noting reports that the response of the police to crimes committed by the general population against Roma/Gypsies is often inadequate, ECRI recommends that the Ukrainian authorities take measures to ensure that the police react promptly and effectively to all crimes, including those committed against Roma/Gypsies and, in line with its recommendations formulated above, to ensure that the racist element of such offences is duly taken into account.” 60.     The relevant parts of the third report on Ukraine by the ECRI, adopted on 29   June 2007, read as follows: “76.     As previously indicated, Roma face a number of problems in their relationship with the police and other law enforcement agencies. ECRI has received reports according to which some police officers illegally arrest and harass members of Roma communities... Attempts to find a common understanding between Roma organisations and the Ministry of Interior, the Office of the Prosecutor and law enforcement officials have reportedly yielded few results. ECRI has also received reports according to which Roma do not receive an adequate response from the police when they are the victims of crime.” 61.     On 27 November 2002 the Council of Europe’s Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (“the Advisory Committee”) published its first opinion regarding Ukraine’s compliance with that Convention. It concerned the first monitoring cycle and was based on the Advisory Committee’s visit to Ukraine in December 2001. The relevant parts of the opinion read: “30.     The Advisory Committee considers that Ukraine has not been able to secure full and effective equality between the majority population and Roma and that the situation of Roma remains difficult in such fields as employment and housing... These problems are exacerbated by the unsatisfactory situation of Roma in the educational system... The Advisory Committee is of the opinion that these issues merit increasing attention. ... 36.     The Advisory Committee notes with concern that societal attitudes towards Roma remain negative, and sociological studies suggest that the prejudices towards Roma are markedly more widespread than towards persons belonging to other national minorities. The Advisory Committee believes that it would be helpful to design further initiatives aimed at promoting inter-cultural dialogue between Roma and others. 37.     The Advisory Committee notes with concern that there have been incidents of discrimination and ill-treatment of Roma, including by law-enforcement officials, which have been reported inter alia by the Parliamentary Ombudsman. It is also concerned about credible reports about discrimination and hostility, including by law-enforcement officials, concerning asylum-seekers and other persons who have arrived in Ukraine relatively recently... The Advisory Committee deeply regrets that there appears to be some reluctance within the law-enforcement bodies to acknowledge and examine these problems, and it urges the authorities to increase the vigour with which these incidents are investigated and prosecuted.” 62 .     The Advisory Committee’s second opinion on Ukraine, issued on 30   May 2008, reads, in the relevant part: “79.     Some interlocutors informed the Advisory Committee that persons belonging to national minorities are affected by unjustified and/or unlawful stop and search procedures which are carried out by law-enforcement officials. Roma, as well as persons belonging to visible minorities living in various regions of Ukraine, seem to be particularly targeted by this practice which is allegedly accompanied, in certain cases, by calls for bribes. Raids and home searches in Roma settlements, sometimes accompanied by an excessive use of force, have reportedly not ceased. Cases of ill-treatment by the police are still being reported, and the complaints brought against the officials under suspicion are often not properly investigated. Moreover, there are reports of Roma convicted of crimes and subsequently sentenced to imprisonment, without substantive proof of guilt. By contrast, law-enforcement agencies are reported to be more reluctant to investigate crimes committed against Roma. Widespread negative stereotypes of the Roma population seem to be prevalent also within law enforcement agencies as well as the judiciary... and no doubt contribute to the risk of unequal treatment by these institutions.” THE LAW I.     PRELIMINARY MATTERS A.     Death of two applicants 63.     The seventeenth and the eighteenth applicants died after this application had been lodged (see paragraph 5 above). 1.     The parties’ submissions 64 .     The applicants’ representatives initially informed the Court of that fact in their letter of 23 February 2018. They stated that the seventeenth applicant’s wife and son and the eighteenth applicant’s wife and granddaughters wished to pursue the application in their stead. On that occasion they furthermore stated that the nineteenth applicant had also died and named certain individuals who wished to pursue the application in his stead. 65 .     In response to the Court’s invitation to provide evidence, the applicants’ representatives stated that in fact the nineteenth applicant had not died. On that occasion they also submitted that Ms   Raisa Mikitovna Tsynya and Ms Lyubov Leontivna Tsynya – respectively, the wives of the seventeenth and eighteenth applicants – as well as Ms   Ramina Nikolaevna Tsynya, Lyubov Nikolaevna Tsynya and Evgenya Tsynya – the eighteenth applicant’s granddaughters, had expressed their wish to pursue the application on behalf of the respective applicants. They submitted authority forms signed by those individuals and death certificates. 66.     The Government submitted that the individuals purporting to pursue the application on behalf of the deceased had “failed to provide any supporting documents related to their relationship or consanguinity with the deceased, such as birth certificate, marriage certificate and more important (sic) inheritance certificates”. They invited the Court to refuse those individuals’ requests that they be allowed to pursue the application on behalf of the deceased. 67 .     The applicants’ representatives responded by submitting a copy of the marriage certificate showing that Lyubov Tsynya was the eighteenth applicant’s wife. As to Raisa Tsynya, they submitted that she had only been the seventeenth applicant’s partner (that is to say they had not been married to each other) and that she was therefore in no position to provide a marriage certificate. They pointed out that in the case of Velikova   v.   Bulgaria ((dec.), no.   41488/98, ECHR 1999 ‑ V (extracts)) the Court had allowed an unmarried partner to pursue a complaint following the death of the applicant. The applicants’ representatives submitted that the individuals in question were vulnerable and poor and could not be expected to provide certificates of inheritance. 2.     The Court’s assessment 68.     The Court firstly notes that the applicants died after they had lodged the application, a situation which according to its case-law is viewed differently from those instances where the applicant has died beforehand. Where the applicant has died after the application was lodged, the Court has accepted that the next of kin or heir may in principle pursue the application, provided that he or she has sufficient interest in the case (see Centre for Legal Resources on behalf of Valentin Câmpeanu v. Romania [GC], no.   47848/08, § 97, ECHR 2014, with further references). In such cases, the decisive point is not whether the rights in question are or are not transferable to the heirs wishing to pursue the procedure, but whether the heirs can in principle claim a legitimate interest in requesting the Court to deal with the case on the basis of the applicant’s wish to exercise his or her individual and personal right to lodge an application with the Court (see Singh and Others v. Greece , no. 60041/13, §   26, 19 January 2017). 69.     It is not contested that the individuals wishing to pursue the application on behalf of the deceased applicants have no formal status as their heirs. However, this in itself is not decisive as long as they can lay a claim to be their next of kin (contrast Malhous v. the Czech Republic (dec.) [GC], no.   33071/96, ECHR 2000 ‑ XII – where the Court accepted that a relative who had not finalised his status as a heir nevertheless had such standing ‑ with Thévenon v. France (dec.), no.   2476/02, ECHR   2006 ‑ III, ‑ where it did not recognise the locus standi of an individual who was not the applicant’s relative, even though he was his friend and universal legatee). 70.     As far as the seventeenth applicant is concerned, there is no evidence before the Court which would show that the individuals purporting to pursue the application on his behalf are his next of kin, and the individuals in question have not explained why they could not provide such evidence. 71.     While initially the seventeenth applicant’s son was mentioned by the applicants’ representatives as wishing to pursue the application, there was no follow-up and the applicants’ representatives made no reference to him again after the Court’s request for evidence (see paragraphs 64 and 65 above). 72.     As to the seventeenth applicant’s unmarried partner, she did not pursue any domestic proceedings on his behalf and was not recognised as such either by any domestic authority or the Government (contrast, for example, Velikova (dec.), cited above, Vogrinčič and Others   v.   Slovenia   (dec.), nos. 15829/05 and 18618/06, 28 June 2011, and Ivko   v.   Russia , no.   30575/08, §   66, 15 December 2015). Even after clarifying her status as his unmarried partner, she has not described her relationship with the applicant in any detail, such as the period of their cohabitation, common children, etc. (contrast, for example, Velikova (dec.), cited above, and Pisarkiewicz v. Poland , no. 18967/02, § 29, 22 January 2008). 73.     Given these circumstances, the Court concludes that it has not been shown that the individuals purporting to pursue the application in the seventeenth applicant’s stead have a legitimate interest in doing so. Accordingly, they do not have standing to pursue the proceedings. 74.     Given that the Court will continue to examine the other applicants’ complaints, which are based entirely on the same facts, no particular circumstance relating to respect for the rights guaranteed by the Convention or its Protocols requires the Court to continue the examination of the application in respect of the seventeenth applicant (see, for example, Grigoryan and Sergeyeva v. Ukraine , no. 63409/11, § 45, 28 March 2017). 75.     The Court accordingly finds that, as far as that applicant is concerned, the conditions in which a case may be struck out of its list, as provided in Article 37 § 1 of the Convention, are satisfied and decides to strike the application in respect of the seventeenth applicant out of its list. 76.     As far as the eighteenth applicant is concerned, the application is being pursued by his wife. The Court has no reason to doubt that she may pursue the application in his stead. By contrast, the individuals claiming to be that applicant’s granddaughters did not submit any evidence in support of that claim and, therefore, have not demonstrated that they have the requisite standing to pursue the application in his stead. 77.     Accordingly, the Court holds that the eighteenth applicant’s wife has standing to continue the present proceedings in his stead. 78 .     However, reference will still be made to “the eighteenth applicant” throughout the ensuing text. B.     Victim status of some applicants 1.     The parties’ submissions 79 .     The Government submitted that the second, fourth, eighth, fourteenth, sixteenth and nineteenth applicants had not been recognised as victims in the domestic criminal proceedings (see the Appendix) and had not submitted any evidence to show that they had been affected by the events in issue in the case. Moreover, in the course of the domestic investigation the police did not examine the houses of the fifth, thirteenth, fourteenth and nineteenth applicants. The Government considered this to constitute evidence that their houses had not been damaged in the attack. Accordingly, they could not claim to be victims of the alleged violations of the Convention. 80.     The applicants responded that what was important in this context was the ineffectiveness of the domestic investigation, not those applicants’ formal status in those proceedings. Moreover, they pointed out that they had complained about the authorities’ failure to confer on some of them the formal status of aggrieved parties in the domestic proceedings (see   paragraph 50 above). The applicants furthermore submitted that the fact that the houses of the fifth, thirteenth, fourteenth and nineteenth applicants and the damage done to them had not b