European Court of Human Rights Makes Second Ruling against Georgian Government

European Court of Human Rights Makes Second Ruling against Georgian Government

On 12 April the European Human Rights Defense Court made a final decision on the case ‘Shamaev and 12 Other Chechen Prisoners vs. the Governments of Georgian and Russia.’  The Chechen prisoners were defended by Lia Mukhashavria and Nana Kintsurashvili, attorneys from the Georgian NGO Article 42 of the Constitution. The EU Court has partially satisfied the Chechens’ demands, deeming their detention and their extradition to Russia illegal, and has also considered the action of the Georgian side as violation of Articles 3, 5 (paragraph 2 and 4), 13 and 34 of the European Convention. The Russian Government was found guilty of violating Articles 38 (paragraph 1, subparagraph a) and 34. According to the decision of the EU Court, the Georgian Government should pay 80,500 EUR to the Chechen prisoners and also to reimburse the legal expenses to the amount of 4000 EUR. The Russian Government was ordered to pay 42,000 EUR to the prisoners and 12,000 EUR for legal expenses. If the countries do not cover these expenses within a three month period, they will be charged with an additional fine for each month they are overdue.

13 citizens of Chechen nationality were detained at the Girevi Watching post on 4 August 2002. Five of them were extradited to the Russian Federation.

According to attorney Lia Mukhashavria, after the decision was made by the EU Court the French judge Jean Paul Costa said that the Chechen case was the most difficult of the cases being tried in the court at that time.

This is the second instance in the history of Georgian law that the EU Court has made a decision against the Georgian government. The first was ‘Asanidze vs. Georgia,’ in which case the interests of Asanidze were also defended by Lia Mukhashavria.

Lado Mkervalishvili