The applicants, a mother and her three children, Georgian nationals legally staying in Moldova after fleeing persecution, were placed in detention in Moldova after they illegally crossed the border into Romania and they were returned to the territory of Moldova. The applicants were subsequently the subject of a decision to expel them to Ukraine. The children were not mentioned in the decision to detain them, nor in the decision to expel them to Ukraine. They all raised complaints under Article 5 of the European Convention for illegal detention.

While the mother's complaint was dismissed as inadmissible as she did not exhaust the available domestic remedies, the children's complaints were considered admissible. On the merits of the complaint, the ECtHR held that their detention had been unlawful. The court noted that the children's detention lacked any legal basis as they were not the subject of any administrative or court decision concerning their mother's expulsion from the country or detention, but merely accompanied their mother. The court thus found a violation of Article 5 (1) of the European Convention. 

The court noted that detention under Article 5 § 1 (f) of the Convention must be carried out in good faith, be closely connected to the ground of detention relied on by the Government, the place and conditions of detention should be appropriate, and the length of the detention should be reasonable. It further reiterated that detention of children in unsuitable regardless of whether they are accompanied by an adult or not. The court also noted that the presence in a detention centre of a child accompanying its parents will comply with Article 5 (1) (f) only where national authorities can establish that the measure was one of last resort, taken after verification that no other measure involving a lesser restriction of their freedom could be implemented. In the present case no such analysis was made by the authorities, including the courts. There was also no analysis made of whether the place where they were held was appropriate for housing families with minor children, considering contacts with peers and recreational activities, availability of psychologists and medical staff.

The court also found a violation of Article 5 (4) of the European Convention in respect of the three children, for the lack of an effective remedy available to the children to challenge their detention.