Case of Vassili Kononov: Strasbourg versus Nuremberg

12-year-long legal dispute of Vassili Kononov and the Latvian ethnocratic regime resembles Franz Kafka’s novel "The Trial¹" with its absurd piling of the sentences, further inquiries, and appeals. By the way "The Trial", written in 1925, was also born by the European culture and in great many senses it became a prophecy of the coming fascism.
Grand Chamber of the European Court for Human Rights cancelled the original verdict, returned in Strasbourg 2 years ago due to the claim of Vassili Kononov, Great Patriotic War veteran, that he put up against the Latvian authorities. Talks that the common sense finally prevailed in Europe, turned out to be pre-mature: this time 14 judges voted in favor of Latvia and just 3 of them — in favor of partisan and resistance member.
In 2008 the Court obliged Latvia to pay Kononov €30.000 as compensation and recognize the incompetence of the criminal prosecution against him. This inspired the state authorities to demand the Strasbourg Court to revise this decision. Vassili Kononov says that he is willing to fight until the end, the way he did in the 40s. He is 87 now so his time and strength for another war — against the unrighteous court this time — are running thin. This war however is on since 1998 — that’s when the veteran was arrested. He, by the way, sacrificed his youth for the liberation of his motherland (Vassili Kononov is a native citizen of Latvia).
Hopes of Kononov’s lawyers are grounded on the circumstance that Strasbourg doesn’t have all the materials of the case. Thus, the Court didn’t take the complete information into the consideration, which may become the reason to review the case, despite the fact, that, according to the law, the Grand Chamber is making its final decision now. We can’t rule out the possibility that the lawyers will manage to catch this straw. But still it’s hard to believe in their success, as long as it is clear that now everything depends on the political conjuncture.
http://www.win.ru/en/topic/4445.phtml