Georgia files lawsuit against Russia for the occupation of Abkhazia
The Georgian Ministry of Justice filed a lawsuit against Russia to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) and accused Moscow of occupying the country’s territories and deliberately harassing ethnic Georgians in the republic, reported TASS with a reference to the Georgian Ministry of Justice.
“Georgia demands that the European Court recognize Russia’s responsibility for the violation of more than one articles of the European Convention (on human rights). In particular, the occupation organized by Russia and a purposeful campaign against the population of Georgia violates Article 2 of the European Convention (the right to life), Article 3 (prohibition of torture), Article 5 (right to liberty and security), Article 8 (the right to protect family life)," the report said.
Georgian Ministry of Justice also accused Russia of helping those responsible for the death of Archil Tatunashvili, a South Ossetian serviceman, escape punishment and also fabricating the results of medical expertise of this case.
Tatunashvili was detained on February 22, 2018 in South Ossetia on suspicion of espionage. According to the State Security Committee of South Ossetia, he was an informer of the Georgian special services and a participant in the events of the Georgian-Ossetian conflict of 2004-2008. During his transfer to the detention center, Tatunashvili resisted and he was injured. After the incident, Tatunashvili started complaining of poor health and was taken to the hospital where he died.
As a result of the 5-day war between Russia and Georgia in August 2008, more than a thousand people were killed, of whom 72 were Russian servicemen.
Most ethnic Georgians were forced to leave their homes in South Ossetia during the 2008 Russian-Georgian war but even today they make up about half of the population of the Akhalgori Municipality, which is unique for the breakaway region of Georgia.
The independence of the self-proclaimed Republic of South Ossetia after the war was recognized only by four states: Russia, Nicaragua, Venezuela and Nauru. All the other UN member states consider this region to be part of Georgia.