Links on the topic

The leadership of the Investigative Committee at the Russian Prosecutor's Office (SCP) and the European Publishing House presented the Ossetian tragedy yesterday. The White Book of Crimes against South Ossetia. August 2008. " It tells about crimes committed by Georgian troops and special services in August this year.

The head of the UPC, Alexander Bastrykin, said at the presentation that the book, published by 5 thousand copies, was compiled on the basis of criminal materials initiated by the results of August events. This business now has about 300 volumes.

“This is, in fact, a book where the crimes that were committed by the Georgian military in South Ossetia are described,” Bastrykin said. “This is a book about the tragedy that was the result of a monstrous, inhuman action arranged by Georgian military personnel in the republic. Finally, this is a book of memory of the dead civilians of South Ossetia - old people, women, children.”

The head of the UKP specified that the case on the events in Tskhinvali and his environs was initiated under Article 105 part 2 (the murder of two or more persons committed in a generally hazardous way, based on racial and national hostility) and article 357 of the Criminal Code ("Genocide").

However, the investigation continues, and the charges can be supplemented with several more articles of the Criminal Code. According to Bastrykin, in the future the possibility of additional qualifications of the acts of guilty persons under Articles 353 (“Planning, preparation, unleashing or conducting aggressive war”), 356 (“Application of prohibited weapons”), 359 (“Mercenary”) and 360 of the Criminal Code (“attack on persons or institutions that enjoy international protection”) are considered.

According to the head of the UPP, the investigative actions are planned to be completed by April 2009, after which the collected results will be transferred to the Foreign Ministry for use in international courts.

“Perhaps we will talk about the creation of some special international judicial authority on this case. But this is not a matter of UPP,” Bastrykin said.

He said that 5 thousand inhabitants of South Ossetia were recognized as victims during the conflict. The questionnaire data and burial places of 162 civilians and about 250 military personnel of the South Ossetian armed forces were installed. In addition, 48 Russian troops, including 10 peacekeepers, were recognized as dead in hostilities.