Papuashvili: human rights activists demand inquiry into events of August 2008 in The Hague

The Prosecutor's Office of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague is almost ready to open a criminal case on the five-day war in August 2008 in the area of the Georgian-Ossetian conflict; however, the resumption of the investigation in Georgia can suspend the process, believes Simon Papuashvili, a volunteer of the Norwegian Helsinki Committee. In its turn, the Prosecutor's Office of Georgia treats the investigation as "a matter of honour."

On April 22, the Prosecutor's Office of the ICC in The Hague officially declared that it had received 3851 messages from individuals and organizations of civil society about the events related to the war in Georgia in August 2008.

The messages describe forced displacement of the population, attacks on peacekeepers, looting and destruction of property, indiscriminate and disproportionate use of weapons, resulting in civilians' sufferings, torture and other forms of ill-treatment.

In fact, the statement of the Prosecutor's Office of the ICC marks the beginning of the final stage of the preliminary investigation of the events of August 2008, after which we should expect initiation of a criminal case at the ICC The Hague, said Simon Papuashvili, a volunteer of the Norwegian Helsinki Committee and a former lawyer of the Georgian Human Rights Centre for.

The ICC can start a criminal investigation only against a country, which has signed the Rome Statute (the founding document of the ICC), or in respect of a country that has committed a crime in the territory of a party to the Rome Statute, said the lawyer. Thus, according to his story, the Prosecutor's Office of the ICC can conduct investigations in Georgia and Russia, provided the countries themselves do not take any actions to investigate crimes, which are under the jurisdiction of the ICC - genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.

According to Papuashvili, at present, the stumbling block for the Prosecutor's Office of the ICC to start the inquiry is the decision of the General Prosecutor's Office of Georgia's to reopen its own investigation, initiated in respect of the warfare in August 2008.

"That is why The Hague prosecutors will wait for the results of the inquiry of their Georgian counterparts," said Simon Papuashvili.

In his opinion, the new government of Georgia is interested to conduct the investigation to end. However, according to Papuashvili, there are circumstances that prevent Georgia to do it.

"Certain offenses were committed by Georgian armed formations; for example, the bombing of Tskhinvali. On the other hand, many of the crimes were committed by South-Ossetian armed formations under the effective control of Russian troops. However, because Georgia cannot exercise control over the territory of South Ossetia, the latter refuses to give out criminals and cooperate, it's impossible for Georgia to bring its inquiry to the end," said Simon Papuashvili.

"Therefore, the Norwegian Helsinki Committee is lobbying that the inquiry into the events in August 2008 to be conducted by the Prosecutor's Office of the ICC," said Simon Papuashvili.