issued by the Registrar of the Court  
ECHR 158 (2025)  
26.06.2025  
Judgments and decisions of 26 June 2025  
The European Court of Human Rights has today notified in writing nine judgments1 and nine  
decisions2:  
two Chamber judgments are summarised below;  
separate press releases have been issued for two other Chamber judgments in the cases of Seydi and  
Others v. France (application no. 35844/17) and S.O. v. Spain (no. 5742/22);  
a separate press release has also been issued for a Committee judgment in the case of Benyukh  
v. Ukraine (no. 39150/20);  
the four other Committee judgments, concerning issues which have already been examined by the  
Court, and the nine decisions, can be consulted on Hudoc and do not appear in this press release.  
The judgment in French below is indicated with an asterisk (*).  
Cimpaka Kapeta v. Belgium (application no. 55000/18)*  
The applicant is a Belgian national who was born in 1990 and lives in Belgium.  
The case concerns the Belgian authorities’ refusal to issue him with a passport on national-security  
and public-safety grounds.  
The applicant complains of an interference with his rights under Article 8 (right to respect for private  
and family life) of the European Convention on Human Rights and Article 2 of Protocol No. 4 (freedom  
of movement) to the European Convention. He also relies on Article 13 (right to an effective remedy).  
No violation of Article 2 of Protocol No. 4  
No violation of Article 13  
Alakhverdyan v. Ukraine (no. 8838/20)  
The applicant, Sergiy Volodymrovych Alakhverdyan, is a Ukrainian national who was born in 1984 and  
is currently serving a life sentence in Vinnytsya (Ukraine).  
The case concerns Mr Alakhverdyan’s application to the Supreme Court for review of his conviction  
for the murders of two people and causing minor bodily injuries to a third person in 2004. His request  
was made based on the judgment of the European Court on 16 April 2019 (no. 12224/09) that there  
had been a violation of Article 6 § 1 and 3 (c) of the Convention due to restrictions on the right to  
defence.  
1
Under Articles 43 and 44 of the Convention, Chamber judgments are not final. During the three-month period following a Chamber  
judgment’s delivery, any party may request that the case be referred to the Grand Chamber of the Court. If such a request is made, a panel  
of five judges considers whether the case deserves further examination. In that event, the Grand Chamber will hear the case and deliver a  
final judgment. If the referral request is refused, the Chamber judgment will become final on that day. Under Article 28 of the Convention,  
judgments delivered by a Committee are final.  
Once a judgment becomes final, it is transmitted to the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe for supervision of its execution.  
Further information about the execution process can be found here: www.coe.int/t/dghl/monitoring/execution  
2
Inadmissibility and strike-out decisions are final.  
The Supreme Court allowed Mr Alakhverdyan’s application for review in part and excluded pieces of  
evidence obtained which it held to be in breach of his right to defence and therefore inadmissible, but  
upheld the conviction on the basis of the remaining evidence.  
Relying on Article 6 (right to a fair trial), Mr Alakhverdyan submits that the Supreme Court lacked the  
power to conduct a re-examination of the evidence, and that a remittal to the trial court for rehearing  
was required. Mr Alakhverdyan further submits that such exclusion of evidence constituted a  
considerable change in the body of evidence in his case, and he had inadequate time and facilities to  
prepare his defence in the framework of the review proceedings.  
Violation of Article 6  
Just satisfaction:  
non-pecuniary damage: 3,600 euros (EUR)  
costs and expenses: EUR 5,000  
This press release is a document produced by the Registry. It does not bind the Court. Decisions,  
judgments and further information about the Court can be found on https://www.echr.coe.int/home.  
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We are happy to receive journalists’ enquiries via either email or telephone.  
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The European Court of Human Rights was set up in Strasbourg by the Council of Europe member  
States in 1959 to deal with alleged violations of the 1950 European Convention on Human Rights.  
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