09 August 2020, 11:08
Rights defenders criticize Georgian authorities for refusing to inquire into August War events
The Georgian authorities have withdrawn from their own inquiry into the conflict in South Ossetia, and even failed to compile a list of victims, human rights defenders assert.
The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on the eve of the 12th anniversary of the start of the "Five Day War", three protest actions were held on Georgian-South-Ossetian border; protesters stood for the territorial integrity of Georgia.
On August 8, 2008, Russia intervened in the Georgian-South-Ossetian armed conflict. After the end of hostilities, the Russian President signed decrees recognizing the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Georgia treats Abkhazia and South Ossetia as its Russian-occupied territories.
The exact number of Georgian war victims has not yet been defined, Aleko Tskitishvili, the head of the NGO "Human Rights Centre", told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent. "The reason is largely in the inaction of the Georgian side. The government could at least take into account all the residents who suffered from the conflict and submit lists to The Hague to clarify the number of victims," he has stated.
The Georgian government is not conducting its own investigation, Simon Papuashvili, the manager of the International Human Rights Partnership Project (IHRPP), told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.
"In 2015, the Georgian government sent a letter to the Hague, explaining that it could not conduct an investigation in the territory of South Ossetia and Abkhazia; therefore, it withdrew itself from further investigation," Mr Papuashvili has explained.
In his opinion, by doing this, Georgian authorities have complicated the legal status of war victims. "We don't know when the case is considered in The Hague. The Rome Statute defines no timeframe for the inquiry. In this case, it would be extremely important to have a judicial decision on war crimes from the national justice. But there is no such assessment; and thus it turns out that the perpetrators of the war have not yet been condemned by any court in the world," Mr Papuashvili has concluded.
This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on August 8, 2020 at 10:21 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.
Author: Beslan Kmuzov Source: CK correspondent
