Commission to investigate August 2008 war may be created in the Georgian parliament

August 2008 war commission

According to Fridon Injia, chairman of the European Socialists in the Georgian parliament, his political movement will continue to collect signatures for the prosecutor’s office to investigate “the crimes committed by the Saakashvili regime” during the Russian-Georgian war of 2008, with an inquiry commission being prepared in parliament.

Mamuka Mdinaradze supports the investigation of those events, although it is not known whether this is the parliamentary majority’s position or not. Mdinaradze says that, as a citizen of Georgia, he would gladly support such an investigation.

• Investigation of crimes committed during August 2008 war completed: What does it mean?
• Georgia celebrates ECHR’s verdict in 2008 August War suit against Russia
• The 2008 war over South Ossetia: How it all happened

On December 19, 2022, the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague completed its investigation of war crimes committed during the August war (July 1 to October 10, 2008). The Hague did not accuse any Georgian military in this context.

The prosecutor in the case, Karim Khan, noted that the decision to end the investigation phase was made for the first time in the twenty-year history of the court. According to the prosecutor, during the investigation his office examined all evidence presented by the parties to the conflict regarding alleged crimes.

In the summer of 2022, the court issued arrest warrants for three former South Ossetian officials in connection with crimes against humanity and war crimes: Mikhail Mindzaev (in 2005-2008 – the Minister of Internal Affairs of the self-proclaimed Republic of South Ossetia), Hamlet Guchmazov (in 2008 – head of the pre-trial detention center of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of South Ossetia), and Davide Sanakoev (in 2008 – Commissioner of the President of South Ossetia on human rights issues, currently a deputy).

On January 21, 2021, the Hague announced its final decision in the case “Georgia v. Russia”, ruling that Russia is responsible for the violation of six articles of the European Convention on Human Rights against Georgian citizens, including violation of the right to life, torture, burning and destruction of private property.

● Tbilisi filed a lawsuit against Russia with the ICC in 2008. In January 2016, the First Pre-Trial Chamber agreed to open an investigation into war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by the Georgian, Ossetian and Russian sides before, during and after hostilities, in particular between July 1 and October 10, 2008.

● In March of this year, the illegal detention, ill-treatment, hostage-taking and subsequent illegal deportation of ethnic Georgian civilians was reported.

● The jurisdiction of the ICC extends to crimes committed on the territory of the states parties to the Rome Statute (Georgia is one of them), regardless of the nationality of the perpetrators. From the point of view of international law, South Ossetia is part of the territory of Georgia, which means that the jurisdiction of the ICC extends to crimes committed in South Ossetia for which Russian citizens are responsible, although Russia is not a party to the Rome Statute.