The European Court of Human Rights ordered Russia to pay Georgian citizens more than 129 million euros in compensation for the violation of their rights as a result of the 2008 war. The decision is published on the website of the court.
According to the ECtHR, the Russian side did not take adequate measures to prevent violence against the civilian population. After the truce, Russia was supposed to ensure respect for human rights in the conflict zone, but instead allowed the killing of civilians, the torture of military personnel and looting.
Russia also prevented the return of Georgian citizens to their homes in Abkhazia and Tskhinvali regionafter the war. For this violation, the ECtHR awarded the largest part of the compensation — 115 million euros — to 23,000 victims.
In addition, 8.2 million euros were decided to be paid due to the lack of an investigation into the deaths of civilians during the armed conflict, another 3.2 million euros due to the death of at least 50 civilians.
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In 2021, the ECHR ruled on the main claim of Georgia against Russia over the 2008 war. The decision did not concern monetary compensation, then the court recognized that after the war Russia controlled the territories of Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali region of Georgia, respectively, it is responsible for the violations that occurred after the end of hostilities. At the same time, according to the court, these territories were not controlled by Russia directly during the war.
In March 2022, Russia was expelled from the Council of Europe. A few months later, Vladimir Putin signed a bill on non-execution of decisions of the European Court of Human Rights issued after March 15, 2022. Russia officially ceased to be a member of the European Convention on Human Rights in September.