issued by the Registrar of the Court  
ECHR 184 (2025)  
17.07.2025  
Judgments and decisions of 17 July 2025  
The European Court of Human Rights has today notified in writing four judgments1 and six decisions2:  
two Chamber judgments are summarised below;  
one separate press release has been issued for another Chamber judgment in the case of Siles Cabrera  
v. Spain (application no. 5212/23);  
one Committee judgment, concerning issues which have already been examined by the Court, and the  
six decisions, can be consulted on Hudoc and do not appear in this press release.  
The judgments summarised below are available only in English.  
Y.K. v. Croatia (application no. 38776/21)  
The applicant, Y.K., is a Turkish national who was born in 1984. He is an ethnic Kurd.  
The case concerns Y.K.’s attempts to claim international protection in Croatia, where he was held in  
an immigration reception centre in Ježevo after he clandestinely entered the country in February  
2021. He alleges that he was tortured and prosecuted numerous times in Türkiye owing to his political  
activism, forcing him to flee. In March 2021, following a return decision (rješenje o povratku), Y.K. left  
Croatia.  
Relying on Article 3 (prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment), Article 13 (right to an effective  
remedy) and Article 34 (right of individual petition) of the European Convention on Human Rights, Y.K.  
alleges that he was repeatedly refused access to the international-protection procedure by the  
Croatian authorities, that he couldn’t challenge his removal from Croatia, and that he was denied  
access to a lawyer while in Croatia.  
Violation of Article 3  
Violation of Article 13 read in conjunction with Article 3  
Just satisfaction:  
non-pecuniary damage: 8,500 euros (EUR)  
costs and expenses: EUR 3,300  
Opalenko v. Ukraine (no. 46673/18)  
The applicant, Sergіy Vasylyovych Opalenko, is a Ukrainian national who was born in in 1978 and is  
detained in Kaminne Prison (Ukraine).  
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 case concerns the criminal proceedings against the applicant on charges of murdering his mother  
and his niece in 2010. Following several procedural turns, a new investigation was ordered and he was  
retried and convicted in 2017. He was given a life sentence.  
Relying on Article 6 (right to a fair trial) of the European Convention, Mr Opalenko alleges he was  
denied access to his lawyer at the start of proceedings, that witnesses were not examined in his retrial,  
and that the proceedings were excessively long.  
No violation of Article 6 §§ 1 and 3 (c) with regard to the applicant’s right to legal assistance  
Violation of Article 6 § 1 on account of the excessive length of the proceedings  
Just satisfaction:  
non-pecuniary damage: EUR 900  
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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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.  
2