Sooner or later, the time will come when Saakashvili and those responsible for starting a war against South Ossetia will be punished
Criminal cases against former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili and his associates for crimes committed against the South Ossetian people have no statute of limitations, said President of South Ossetia Anatoly Bibilov.
He has reminded that in 2008, investigative bodies of the Republic initiated proceedings against the top leadership of Georgia, which unleashed a war against South Ossetia.
"These people - 76 people led by ex-President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili - were put on the international wanted list by the South Ossetian side. Cases against those guilty of the tragic events of the August aggression cannot have a statute of limitations and will always harass them ... The actions of the Georgian leadership are directly related to the genocide of the Ossetian people, "the President said in an interview with TASS.
He has expressed confidence that sooner or later the time will come when Saakashvili and those responsible for starting the war against South Ossetia will be punished.
"Despite the fact that Saakashvili is fleeing from one country to another, that there is a certain protection of this criminal by the Western countries and the USA, I think that someday a good mind will prevail both Americans and Europeans will understand that Saakashvili is a state criminal, whom it’s necessary to judge not by any article of the Georgian Criminal Code, but on the basis of the principles of international law for crimes against humanity. Sooner or later he will have to answer, "the president of South Ossetia said.
Evidence base
According to Bibilov, the European Court of Human Rights is considering over 1.5 thousand individual lawsuits by residents of South Ossetia against Georgia.
“We will continue to prove that it is Georgia that attacked South Ossetia, that caused enormous damage to the Republic’s infrastructure and, most importantly, tried to destroy the people. This can be seen from the same video frames shot by the Georgian military themselves. It can be seen that they shot direct fire at civilian targets - residential buildings, kindergartens, schools and hospitals. We have all this evidence base, and I think that the consideration of these specific cases ... will receive an appropriate assessment, "the President emphasized.
"We do not lose hope that common sense will prevail and the European Court of Human Rights will evaluate those crimes that were committed on the territory of South Ossetia by the Georgian leadership and Georgian troops," Bibilov said.
