12:25, 14 August 2008

Russia brings case on genocide in South Ossetia

The Investigatory Committee at the Prosecutor's Office (ICPO) of Russia has initiated a criminal case on the fact of mass assassinations of Russian citizens in South Ossetia, under which Georgia is accused of genocide, as Igor Komissarov, assistant of the chairman of the ICPO, has reported.

On August 10, President of Russia Dmitri Medvedev ordered the ICPO to collect and document evidences of the crimes committed in South Ossetia, having treated the Georgia's actions in the non-recognized republic as genocide.

Mr Komissarov said: "The Chief Investigatory Department of the ICPO has initiated a criminal case under Article 357 of the Criminal Code of Russia ("Genocide") based on the available data that Georgian armed forces had accomplished actions directed towards liquidation of Russian citizens, who lived in South Ossetia and were Ossetian nationals, by murders and causing heavy harm to human health."

The ITAR-TASS reports that now about 100 Russian inspectors continue their work in Tskhinvali investigating the murder cases of Russian citizens and peacekeepers.