The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), in the case of “Georgia v. Russia,” found Russia guilty of human rights violations during the process of “borderization“—the establishment of the demarcation line in the Georgian-Ossetian conflict zone, initiated shortly after the 2008 war.
Georgia filed three additional complaints against Russia with the ECtHR. Additionally, the court received around 200 individual complaints against Georgia, Russia, or both states, related to the 2008 armed conflict or the borderization process.
Key points from the ECtHR decision
The Court unanimously found violations of Article 2 (right to life), Article 3 (prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment), first paragraph of Article 5 (right to liberty and security), and Article 8 (right to respect for private and family life). It also found violations of Article 1 (right to property) and Article 2 (right to education) of Protocol 1 to the Convention, and additionally violations of Article 2 (right to freedom of movement) and Article 4 (prohibition of collective expulsion).
The ECtHR press release notes that the armed conflict between Georgia and Russia in August 2008 initiated a process starting in 2009 known as “borderization,” which restricts people from entering the territory controlled by Georgia and into the separatist regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, supported by Russia.
● The press release also states that borderization is one of the most painful legacies of the Georgian-Russian conflict of August 2008. Specifically, the Georgian government claimed that attempts to enter or leave Abkhazia or South Ossetia resulted in “illegal crossing” of administrative borders, leading to killings, detentions, imprisonment, or harsh treatment of individuals.
● According to the press release, people had their land confiscated, which they used for agriculture, families were separated, and children were forced to choose between learning the Russian language or undertaking long and dangerous journeys to attend school in territory controlled by Georgia.
The ECtHR decision emphasized that there is sufficient evidence—lists of victims, witness testimonies, media reports, and international materials—to conclude that the alleged incidents were not isolated but rather numerous and interconnected, forming a pattern of violations. Furthermore, the apparent lack of effective investigation into the incidents and the failure to take comprehensive measures against all those involved demonstrate that the Russian authorities were officially tolerant of such practices.
