ECHR holds Russia responsible for human rights violations against 2 Georgian citizens in occupied Abkhazia
The Court held that Russia was to pay €35,000 each [applicant] “in respect of non-pecuniary damage” and €23,300 jointly in respect of costs and expenses. Photo via Reuters
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The European Court of Human Rights on Tuesday unanimously held Russia responsible for violating three articles of the Human Rights Convention, including inhuman treatment, right to liberty and security, as well as right to a fair trial in a case concerning Levan Mamasakhlisi and Grigol Nanava’s unlawful arrests, ill-treatment and detention.
The case concerned events prior to the armed conflict between Georgia and Russia in 2008, the arrests of Mamasakhlisi and Nanava in 2001 and 2003, and their alleged ill-treatment, conviction and continued detention by the de facto authorities of Georgia’s Russian-occupied Abkhazia.
The arrests and detention of Mamasakhlisi and Nanava were recognised as “unlawful” since neither of the applicants had received “adequate medical attention” or benefited from a “fair hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal” established by law.
Judgment Mamasakhlisi and Others v. Georgia and Russia - Russia responsible for unlawful arrests, ill-treatment and detention of two vulnerable men by de facto Abkhaz authoritieshttps://t.co/VD0JvsDN1Y#ECHR #CEDH #ECHRpress pic.twitter.com/cFLdLsQ160
— ECHR CEDH (@ECHR_CEDH) March 7, 2023
Mamasakhlisi was found guilty by the de facto Abkhaz courts of treason in 2001 and Nanava was arrested for terrorism in 2003. They were sentenced to 12 and six years in prison, and were eventually pardoned on “humanitarian grounds”.
The ECHR established no violation of the convention by Georgia, and it “specifically considered” that the country’s Government had done “everything within its power to secure” the applicants’ rights under the Convention, however, it had been faced with the “persistent refusals” of the de facto authorities to cooperate, while they had not been able to benefit from the assistance of a lawyer.
The Court concluded that, due to its [Russia’s] sustained and substantial political and economic support for Abkhazia and dissuasive military involvement, Russia had exercised effective control and decisive influence over the area and thus had jurisdiction in respect of the matters complained of”, the judgement said.
The Court held that Russia was to pay €35,000 each [applicant] “in respect of non-pecuniary damage” and €23,300 jointly in respect of costs and expenses.
The International Criminal Court in Hague has issued arrest warrants against three de facto officials of Georgia's Russian-occupied breakaway Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region in a case of torture and ill-treatment of Georgian civilians during the 2008 Russia-Georgia war, the Georgian Justice Ministry announced earlier today.
The International Criminal Court on Friday announced the completion of its investigation into the case studying potential war crimes and crimes against humanity during the Russia-Georgia 2008 war, launched in 2016 on the request of the Georgian Government.
Georgia has won the 2008 war case against Russia in the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). The court released its judgement earlier today which says that Russia violated several articles of the European Convention on Human rights during the conflict and carried out ethnic cleansing of Georgians. The court said that Russia is carrying out an effective control of Georgia’s Tskhinvali and Abkhazia regions and is responsible for the violation of human rights of Georgian citizens.
The Police Department of Georgia’s western region of Adjara has detained one person for violation of safety regulations following an incident that led to the death of a minor in the seaside city’s boulevard on Sunday.
The current situation in Georgia’s Russian-occupied territories and near the occupation line, as well as security challenges in the country and “borderisation” activities on shifting the occupation line, was discussed on Wednesday by Grigol Liluashvili, the Head of the Georgian State Security Service and Toivo Klaar, the European Union's Special Representative for the South Caucasus and the Crisis in the country.
The European Court of Human Rights on Thursday ruled there was “no sufficient evidence” to suggest responsibility of the Georgian state in the death of Temirlan Machalikashvili, a 19-year-old local of the country’s north-eastern Pankisi Gorge who died following an anti-terrorist operation involving the State Security Service in 2017.
Levan Ioseliani, the Public Defender of Georgia, on Monday urged the country’s authorities to “use all international mechanisms” and ensure further engagement of the international community to “intensify” pressure on Russia to protect the rights of the people living in Georgia’s occupied Abkhazia and Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) regions, in his message on the 15th anniversary of the 2008 war between Russia and Georgia.