Georgian NGO sues Russia at European Court of Human Rights

One of Georgia’s most vocal non-governmental organisations, Transparency International Georgia (TI Georgia), is suing Russia for allegedly violating the human rights of Georgian citizens in the aftermath of the Russia-Georgia war in 2008.

Head of TI Georgia Eka Gigauri said the claim would be lodged with the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) about Russia’s violations on Georgian soil immediately after and in the years following the war.

Today Gigauri said the NGO's complaint would be supported by 11 cases where the human rights of Georgian citizens were "blatantly violated” through the occupant country’s actions following the short, but brutal war. 

This time we have 11 claimants. If we win, which we are very confident that we will, it’s not just these 11 victims will benefit but all people who were affected by Russia’s illegal activities on Georgian soil,” said Gigauri. 

In our complaint we claim that after the war in 2008, through its creeping occupation Russia has violated the property rights of Georgian citizens, illegally deprived their access to agricultural lands, cemeteries, religious buildings and more, which is a violation of fundamental human rights guaranteed by the International Convention on Human Rights,” she said.

TI Georgia thanked Georgia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other state agencies for supporting the NGO as the complaint was drafted.

On a different note, in January this year the International Criminal Court (ICC) based in the Netherlands authorised an investigation into possible war crimes committed during the Russia-Georgia conflict in 2008.

The war lasted five days and after the armed conflict, 228 Georgian civilians, 170 soldiers and 14 police officers had lost their lives.

The war displaced 192,000 people in Georgia. Many were able to return to their homes after the war but as of May 2014, more than 20,200 people remain displaced.

Since the war Russia has continually violated Georgian and international laws and carried out creeping occupation on the Georgian soil, erected barbed-wire-fences and new, so-called border signs. 

Facts of kidnapping Georgian citizens have also become frequent by Russian-controlled militant forces, who claim these people illegally crossed the ABL into breakaway Abkhazia and Tskhinvali (South Ossetian) regions.