Poland to lose 1940 Katyn massacre case at human rights court?

photo - IPN

Though the judgment will be officially made on 16 April, the Russian newspaper Moskovskiye Novosti has reported that Moscow will not have to bear responsibility for the WWII Katyn massacre and that Russia will emerge relatively unscathed from the current trial in Strasbourg.

“The Polish side has almost completely lost this case,” the newspaper reported, Thursday, after a tip off from anonymous source at the European Court of Human Rights ahead of Monday's ruling.

The paper also reports that victims' relatives who had filed the case would not receive “a single cent in compensation”.

Some 22,500 Polish citizens, largely reserve officers, were executed on Stalin’s orders in 1940, at various points across the Soviet Union, including the Katyn Forest.

“We will not have to answer for Stalin,” the newspaper writes.

However, the newspaper also claims that Moscow will be held to account for not cooperating with the European Court of Human Rights in the case.

Russia refused to provide the court with details from its investigation into the crime.
The Polish plaintiffs have accused Russian authorities of not conducting an effective investigation - the inquiry was broken off in 2004 - and unacceptable treatment of the bereaved families.

Andrzej Melak, chairman of Poland's Katyn Committee, is playing down the report, however.

“I heard this [report] with disbelief and will wait calmly for the verdict of the court,” he said. (pg/nh)