Russia: ECHR Claim No Violations of Civil Rights by their Servicemen

The Russian Ministry of Justice disagrees with the findings of the European Court of Human Rights, including the imposition of responsibility on Russia for the incidents in South Ossetia and Abkhazia since August 12, 2008, and says there is no direct evidence of Russian military involvement in the incidents.

Mikhail Galperin, Russia's representative in the Strasbourg Court and Deputy Justice Minister, says the Russian side was able to convince European judges that the legal assessment of the actions of the Russian armed forces in South Ossetia and Abkhazia on August 8-12, 2008 is beyond their jurisdiction.

"The Georgian side has tried, however unsuccessfully, to prove that the European Convention on Human Rights applies not only in peacetime, but also in hostilities, which undermines international humanitarian law. We have been able to convince European judges that the legal assessment of the actions of the Russian armed forces in South Ossetia and Abkhazia on August 8-12, 2008 is beyond their jurisdiction. Also, the court has not confirmed any case of violation of the rights of civilians by Russian military personnel during the events of August 2008," he noted. 

The Russian Ministry of Justice emphasizes that the ruling of the European Court of Human Rights does not contain a decision on financial compensation.

For the record, the Strasbourg court delivered its judgment in the Russia-Georgia August war case on Thursday. The Georgian Ministry of Justice reported that the European Court of Human Rights has admitted Georgia’s request that Russia violated several articles of the European Convention on Human Rights during the August 2008 war.

By Ana Dumbadze 

Related Story: ECHR: Russia Violated Several Articles of Convention on Human Rights in August War