Court’s decision increases chances of Irganai forced migrants to receive compensation

A court’s decision in favour of residents of the Dagestani villages affected by the flooding of the Irganai reservoir encourages the authorities of the republic to expedite the resolution of the issue of compensation for damage, a representative of the plaintiffs emphasizes.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that on March 25, the Moscow City Court granted an appeal against the decision of the Presnensky Court of Moscow on a claim filed by residents of Dagestani villages that fell into the flood zone of the Irganai hydroelectric power plant (HPP). The court obliged the authorities to prepare documents for the payment of compensation to the residents affected by the commissioning of the Irganai HPP.

The decision of the Moscow City Court is to speed up the process of compensation for damages, believes Marina Agaltsova, a lawyer of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) “Memorial”*, who represents the interests of the victims.

Marina Agaltsova explains that the lawsuit was filed on behalf of 567 people, but five of them had died by the time the appeal was considered.

The court’s decision “puts an end to the conversations” that the victims are not entitled to any payments, Marina Agaltsova emphasizes. “We were waiting for this decision and finally got it. Now the government of Dagestan must act more quickly,” the lawyer said.

* The organization is included by the Russian Ministry of Justice (MoJ) in the register of NCOs performing functions of a foreign agent.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on March 29, 2022 at 04:44 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.