On 6 May 2015 GYLA held the conference, “Russia’s responsibility during August War and at present: cases of GYLA at the European Court”, in the Georgian National Library. The cases, in which GYLA invoked the Responsibility of Russian Federation before the European Court, were discussed at the conference. The statistic is the following:
• one application on behalf of 19 persons, living in the village of Dvani, effected by barbed wire fences built by the so called Russian border-guards;
• six applications on behalf of 18 persons with respect to detentions at the so called “dividing line” by Russian and Ossetian militaries, due to “illegal crossing” of the so called “border”;
• 53 applications on behalf of around 400 persons effected by the August War;
• two applications on behalf of 13 persons with respect to deportation of persons of Georgian ethnicity and nationality from Russian Federation in 2006.
The shadow report submitted before the UN Human Rights Committee with respect to the Russian Federation for the 16 March 2015 Session was also discussed at the meeting. The report refers to the responsibility of Russian Federation with respect to violations conducted by Russian and Ossetian militaries during the August War and in the aftermath.
The issue of investigation by the prosecution authorities of the Russian Federation as well as Georgia, with respect to violations committed during the August War 2008 was also considered; the ongoing threats and problems concerning the wire barbed fences in the villages at the edge of the “dividing line” were also discussed.
In the course of the conference the discussion was launched with respect to aforementioned issues. The representatives of local non-governmental organizations shared their experience on the topics with each other.
The conference was held with the financial support of the project of the European Union (EIDHR). GYLA litigates the cases concerning August War 2008 in partnership with European Human Rights Advocacy Center (EHRAC) and Russian Justice Initiative (RJI).
The meeting was attended by the representatives of domestic and international organizations and diplomatic corps.
The responsible person for the content of information is Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association and the statement may not necessarily reflect the position of the European Union.
