A Russian unexploded bomb on a Georgian police car near the port of Poti in western Georgia on August 18, 2008 (photo by EPA/SERGEI CHIRIKOV)

The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg has ordered Russia to pay Georgia more than €253 million for its actions after the Russian-Georgian war of 2008. Court decision published on the ECHR website on Tuesday, October 14.

The court delivered its judgment in the case of Georgia v. Russia (IV) in April 2024, and today it has clarified the amount of compensation.

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The court found that the creation of the demarcation lines in Abkhazia and South Ossetia since 2009 had violated the rights of approximately 29,000 people, who were awarded compensation for non-pecuniary damage.

For example, with the participation of the Russian military, a metal fence with barbed wire was erected on the former administrative border between these territories, which Tbilisi calls the "line of occupation."

The Court pointed to the systematic nature of Russia's violations of the European Convention on Human Rights. These include excessive use of force, torture and ill-treatment, illegal detentions, restrictions on freedom of movement and access to homes, land and families, and a ban on education in the Georgian language.

In April 2023, the ECHR ordered Russia to pay 115 million euros georgian citizens who were unable to return to their homes in Abkhazia and South Ossetia due to the consequences of the Russian invasion in 2008.

In addition, Russia was fined €8 million for damages to those who suffered from the inability to conduct an effective investigation into the deaths of people killed in the fighting.

According to the ECHR ruling, Moscow must pay more than 5 million euros to victims of torture, murder and acts degrading to human dignity.