The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that Montenegro has violated Article 2 of the European Convention of Human Rights.

It concerns the deaths in August 1999 of a group of persons of Roma ethnicity from Serbia (Kosovo), and Montenegrin authorities' failure to conduct "a prompt and effective investigation" into the case.

"In today’s (Sept. 19, 2017) Chamber judgment 1 in the case, the European Court of Human Rights held, unanimously, that there had been: a violation of Article 2 (right to life - investigation) of the European Convention on Human Rights in respect of one of the applicants," the Strasbourg-based court announced on its website.

The Randjelovic and Others vs. Montenegro case was originally lodged by 13 applicants who are Serbian nationals, one of whom is also a national of the “Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia," the court said.

"The applicants’ relatives were among a group of around 70 Roma who boarded a boat on the Montenegrin coast on the night of August 15, 1999 with the intention of reaching Italy. A few hours later, the boat sank, owing to the large number of passengers. One passenger survived the accident," the statement said.

See at: http://www.b92.net/eng/news/region.php?yyyy=2017&mm=09&dd=19&nav_id=102355