According to the decision of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), Russia is obliged to pay more than 129 million euros to Georgian citizens who suffered during the Russian-Georgian war in 2008.
It was issued under the second part of the suit of the Georgian authorities against Russia. Georgia demanded compensation from the Russian side under Article 41 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The main ruling on the lawsuit was delivered in 2021.
The decision stated that 3.2 million euros must be paid for the killing of at least 50 civilians. Compensation totaling 2.7 million euros was awarded to 116 civilians who were arbitrarily detained and subjected to degrading practices. In addition, 115 million euros were awarded to Georgian citizens whose return to the occupied territories is prevented by Russia, and 8.2 million euros were awarded to 142 persons who suffered from the fact that the Russian side did not conduct an adequate investigation into the deaths of civilians during the hostilities.
In 2022, Russia was expelled from the Council of Europe, and its authorities ordered to stop payments on claims to the ECtHR, decisions on which were made after March 15, 2022. In February 2023, Putin signed a law terminating international treaties of the Council of Europe with respect to the Russian Federation, including the European Convention on Human Rights.
However, as emphasized by the ECtHR, this does not release the country from the obligation to comply with the provisions of the convention when it comes to actions taken before withdrawing from it and from the Council of Europe.
South Ossetia and Abkhazia were part of the Georgian SSR, and in the early 1990s they declared their independence. Georgia still considers these territories its own. In 2008, Russian troops entered them, and the Russian leadership recognized their independence. After that, Georgia defines them as occupied by Russia.