Deputy Justice Minister says some domestic NGOs filed complaints against Georgia in ECHR, accusing country of bombing Tskhinvali using multiple rocket launchers during 2008 Russian invasion

Beka Dzamashvili, the Deputy Minister of Justice of Georgia, on Monday said some domestic non-governmental organisations had filed complaints against Georgia in the European Court of Human Rights, accusing the country of bombing Tskhinvali using multiple rocket launchers and causing civilian casualties during the 2008 Russian invasion of the country.

In his remarks at a session of a temporary investigative commission of the Parliament examining alleged crimes committed by the former United National Movement Government between 2003- 2012, Dzamashvili noted that Georgia was facing a complex legal landscape as it was moving into an active phase of legal proceedings over the 2008 war, encountering 3,300 complaints filed against the country at the European Court of Human Rights by ethnic Ossetians.

As an example, Dzamashvili cited a case filed by the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association at the ECHR, titled Sipols v. Georgia. In this complaint, Georgia was accused of shelling Tskhinvali with Grad rockets, allegedly causing civilian casualties.

“This case, Sipols v. Georgia, was filed solely against Georgia, not against both Georgia and Russia - only against Georgia. The claim alleged that Tskhinvali was bombed using so-called Grad rockets, resulting in civilian deaths. This was the legal reality that the new team at the Ministry of Justice had to handle upon assuming responsibility for legal proceedings”, Dzamashvili said.