The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has ordered Russia to pay almost 130 million euros in compensation to Georgia for violations and damages caused to citizens as a result of the Russian invasion in 2008.
The Grand Chamber of the ECtHR passed an additional decision on the claim of Georgia against Russia regarding the 2008 war in the part that concerns fair compensations under Art. 41 of the European Convention on Human Rights and was not covered by the main decision of 2021.
The court found that it had jurisdiction to consider Georgia's request for compensation, despite the fact that Russia was expelled from the Council of Europe in 2022 and the Russian side did not cooperate with the court during the hearing.
These are cases of murder of the Georgian civilian population, administrative practice of torture of civilians and prisoners of war, arbitrary deprivation of liberty in the basements of the so-called "South Ossetian Ministry of Internal Affairs", looting, policy of preventing the return of Georgians to their homes in the Tskhinvali region (South Ossetia) and Abkhazia, the investigation by the Russian side of the cases deaths of people
The ECtHR decided that the defendant country - Russia - should pay Georgia 3.25 million euros in compensation within three months in connection with at least 50 victims of the murders of civilians in the Georgian villages of South Ossetia and in the buffer zone. Georgia claimed a total of 116 cases, and only 50 were upheld because the remaining 66 victims died during five days of the "active phase of the war," which the court excluded from its jurisdiction in a 2021 ruling. As for Ukraine, there is no such restriction.
In addition, Russia is ordered to pay 2,697,500 euros as compensation to at least 166 victims of the practice of arbitrary detention and inhumane treatment of the Georgian civilian population by South Ossetian forces in the basements of the so-called "Ministry of Internal Affairs" in Tskhinvali on August 10-27, 2008.
EUR 640,000 in compensation is awarded in connection with cases of torture of Georgian prisoners of war by South Ossetian armed groups in Tskhinvali on August 8-17, 2008.
The largest amount of compensation - 115 million euros - was awarded in connection with the administrative practice of preventing the return of Georgian citizens to their homes in the occupied territories, which affected at least 23 thousand people.
Another 8.24 million euros is awarded in connection with non-material damages for at least 142 people who suffered from the lack of an adequate investigation by the Russian side into the deaths of civilians during the active phase of hostilities.
Other requests for compensation were rejected by 9 votes to 8.
Therefore, the total amount that the Russian Federation was obliged to pay to Georgia is 129.8 million euros.
