Source: Civil.ge
October 16, 2015
The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Fatou Bensouda, said after holding meetings in Tbilisi on Friday that she is “pleased” by the level of cooperation her office has been receiving so far from the Georgian authorities.
The prosecutor’s visit came few days after she requested ICC judges earlier this week to authorize investigation into war crimes and crimes against humanity allegedly committed during the August, 2008 war in Georgia.
Her 160-page application, filed before the three-judge panel, details alleged crimes attributed to the Georgian, Russian and South Ossetian sides.
It is not clear when judges decides on whether to grant the ICC Prosecutor authorization to open the investigation.
According to the Prosecutor, the previous experiences show that it usually takes from three to four months, but it does not mean that the same timeframe may also apply to this particular case.
“It could be shorter than that; it could be more than that,” Prosecutor Bensouda told journalists on October 16.
In Tbilisi the ICC Prosecutor met the Georgian Justice Minister and Chief Prosecutor, as well as representatives of those Tbilisi-based human rights groups, which in 2009 compiled a report detailing violations of fundamental rights and international humanitarian law during the August war, and which have been cooperating with and providing information to the ICC prosecutor’s office throughout its preliminary examination of the case.
The ICC Prosecutor also met victims’ representatives, who, she said “left no doubt about their profound wish to see justice done.”
Georgian Justice Minister, Tea Tsulukiani, welcomed ICC prosecutor’s move to step in with the request for the investigation.
“I hope the panel of judges will decide positively and the ICC Prosecutor will be able to open the investigation,” she said after the meeting with Prosecutor Bensouda.
Tsulukiani also said that the Georgian side will seek to broaden scope of the possible investigation so that to also cover cases of killing, torture and inhuman treatment of the Georgian servicemen, who were captured during the hostilities.
The Georgian Justice Minister complained that the ICC Prosecutor’s application, seeking for opening the investigation, does not “properly” reflect the role Russian forces played during the conflict.
“We will show that it was the war between Georgia and Russia, not the Georgian-Ossetian conflict,” she said.
Meanwhile, the Russian side complained that in her application the ICC prosecutor focuses more on the alleged crimes committed by the South Ossetian forces with possible participation of the Russian troops, while showing, as the Russian Foreign Ministry put it, “reservations” about the attack which was carried out by the Georgian forces against Russian peacekeepers in Tskhinvali.
Speaking at the news conference in Tbilisi, ICC Prosecutor Bensouda said: “I do not think there was any attempt on our part to downplay any role or to emphasize any role [of any party involved].”
“Once the authorization is given we will be able to go deeper and get more information into the events,” she said.
In her request, the ICC Prosecutor identifies following crimes, which the prosecution “reasonably believes” fall under the jurisdiction of the ICC:
Asked about level of the Georgian authorities’ cooperation with her office, specifically in respect to the episode where the Georgian side itself may be investigated for alleged war crime, involving attack on the peacekeeping forces’ headquarters in Tskhinvali, the Prosecutor responded: “They [the Georgian authorities] are cooperating on everything.”
