5.  The applicants were born in 1993, 1992, 1992, 1994, 1993, 1993, 1995, 1993, 1996, 1994 and 1951 respectively and live in Tighina (Bender).
6.  The applicants are ten pupils of the Romanian (Moldovan) language boarding school in Tighina (Bender) for orphans and other children taken into public care, and their head teacher and also legal guardian, at the time of lodging the application. Not all the applicants are orphans and some of them had sporadic contacts with their parents. The children studied and lived at the school. During the summer holidays, they either went to summer camps or stayed with the families of the school staff. In 2004 the children spent their summer holidays together with the families of school staff. The applicants’ school was registered with the Moldovan Ministry of Education and was therefore using the Latin script and a curriculum approved by the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Moldova.
7.  According to Article 12 of the Constitution of the “Moldovan Republic of Trandniestria” (“MRT”), the official languages within the “MRT” are “Moldavian”, Russian and Ukrainian. Article 6 of the “MRT” Law on languages, which was adopted on 8 September 1992, states that, for all purposes, “Moldavian” must be written with the Cyrillic alphabet. The “law” provides further that use of the Latin alphabet may amount to an offence. In particular Article 200-3 (currently Article 5.28) of the “MRT” Code of Administrative Offences states that:
“Failure by persons holding public office and other persons in the executive and State administration, in public associations, as well as in other organisations, regardless of their legal status and form of ownership, and in other entities, situated on the territory of the MRT, to observe MRT’s legislation on the functioning of languages on the territory of MRT ... entails liability in the form of a fine which may amount to 50 (fifty) minimal salaries.”
8.  On 18 August 1994 the “MRT” authorities forbade the use of the Latin script in schools. By a decision of 21 May 1999, the “MRT” ordered that all schools belonging to “foreign States” and functioning on “its” territory had to register with the “MRT” authorities, failing which they would not be recognised and would be deprived of their rights. The registration meant that the schools had to follow the “MRT” school curriculum, use the Cyrillic alphabet and learn history in the interpretation of the MRT authorities.
9.  More details about the general background of the facts of the case are described in the Court’s judgment in Catan and Others v. the Republic of Moldova and Russia ([GC], nos. 43370/04, 8252/05 and 18454/06, §§ 13‑42, ECHR 2012 (extracts)).
10.  On 4 June 2004 the school administration was informed that the Bender city administration rescinded the utilities contracts because the school had failed to register with “MRT” authorities. However, the school was given a new time-limit, until 27 June 2004, to provide “MRT” authorities with documents in order to obtain such registration.
11.  The school administration did not comply with the request and on 27 June 2004 the water supply to the school was disconnected.
12.  On 30 June 2004 the Bender city administration requested the school to provide, by 1 July 2004, documents certifying its legal status, its entitlement to use the building and utilities as well as its bank account.
13.  On 5 July 2004 the school was disconnected from the electricity supply.
14.  On 15 July 2004 the Bender city administration issued a decision formally closing the school, because it operated without registration and license.
15.  In the evening of 26 July 2004, unidentified persons and around thirty “MRT” militia officers, acting on behalf of the Bender city administration, sealed the school buildings and restricted access to the school area. Russian peacekeeping forces were present but did not intervene. The following day, the children and teachers forcefully re-entered the school dormitory. They were still occupying it when the application was submitted.
16.  On 27 July 2004 the school administration sent a fax to the President of the Russian Federation complaining about the acts of the “MRT” authorities which affected 300 children, and about the inaction of Russian peacekeepers on 26 July 2004.
17.  On 4 August 2004 the school was given a new time-limit, until 15 August 2004, to register with the “MRT” authorities, otherwise the children risked being transferred by force to a Transdniestrian boarding school for children with disabilities. On 11 August 2004 the “MRT” authorities suggested to the school administration that children would have been safer if they were transferred to kindergarten no. 10 in Bender where appropriate living conditions would be available.
18.  The school was disconnected from all utilities and its administration was denied access to the school kitchen or storehouses. From 27 July to 10 August 2004 the Moldovan authorities provided the children with food and water, which was brought to the entrance of the city of Bender, the OSCE mission securing its transportation from there to the school. From 11 August 2004 OSCE employees were not allowed to deliver food and water more than once per day.
19.  On 21 August 2004 the school administration asked the Russian Embassy in Chișinău to intervene in order to remedy the situation of the children deprived of water, electricity and food.