Public Defender’s report on the general condition in the Russian occupied territories of Georgia

By Khatia Bzhalava

Tuesday, August 11

“12 years have passed since the 2008 August war, regardless, the occupation regime still proceeds by illegal borderisation” reads the statement.

According to the Public Defender, the issue of rehabilitation/compensation of the houses destroyed during the war remains a problem.

Regarding the 12th anniversary of the 2008 Russia-Georgia war, Public Defender (Ombudsman), Nino Lomjaria published a report on general social conditions in Russian occupied territories of Georgia. The ombudsman states that even after 12 years from the war, conflict zone dwellers, Georgian as well as Ossetian and Abkhazian people, still suffer from the devastating consequences of the war.

According to the statement, facts of unlawful deprivation of life in occupied territories are rather alarming, demonstration of which is a violation of the right to life of David Basharuli in 2014, Giga Otkhozoria in 2016, Archil Tatunashvili in 2018 and Irakli Kvaratskhelia in 2019. The ombudsman stresses the fact that "direct partakers in every one of these killings were the representatives of the occupation regime." Besides, the Ombudsman considers the facts of detention of citizens and unlawful deprivation of their liberty on the occupation line, also facts of the beating of inmates, mistreatment, and torture in temporary wards or cells as alarming.

The statement reads that freedom of movement is a severe challenge as well and an example of that is the so-called arbitrary closure of the checkpoint in the occupied Akhalgori region, which resulted in the death of persons living in the occupied territory as they were denied the access to proper medical care.

According to the statement, the quality of healthcare and education in the occupied territories deteriorates year by year.

“Improper medical services and infrastructure, unfavourable level of medical staff’s qualification and high prices on services, as well as complications regarding patients’ movement on the dividing line, negatively affects the community’s right to access the highest standard of health protection,” reads the statement. The majority of the residents of the occupied territory seek to receive medical care elsewhere.

As for education, Lomjaria states that the restriction on education in the mother tongue in the Gali region in 2015 and Akhalgori municipality in 2017, led to a decrease in knowledge of mother tongue for ethnic Georgians and distinct deterioration of the education system, in general.

The ombudsman also paid attention to the harsh condition concerning human rights, particularly against the background, when international organisations working on human rights issues are not allowed to enter occupied territories.

Considering the above-mentioned facts, Lomjaria calls on the government, together with the assistance and involvement of the International Community to try their best and protect the honor and rights of people affected by the conflicts and change the attitude between confronting communities.

“Therefore, Public Defender welcomes any initiative of the Government of Georgia, which is aimed towards protecting the rights of people living in the occupied territories and rebuilding faith between communities separated due to conflicts,” reads the statement.