3.7 Russia's Responsibility as Occupying Power

When Russian forces entered Georgia, including South Ossetia and Abkhazia, which are de jure parts of Georgia, they did so without the consent or agreement of Georgia. International humanitarian law on occupation therefore applied to Russia as an occupying power as it gained effective control over areas of Georgian territory (see above, Chapter 1.2). Tskhinvali and the rest of South Ossetia must be considered under Russian control from August 10, when Georgian forces officially retreated, through the present. Villages in Gori district fell under Russian control as Russian forces moved through them on August 12. Gori city must be considered under effective Russian control at least from August 12 or 13 until August 22, when Russian troops pulled back further north toward South Ossetia.[339] Russia's occupation of the area adjacent to South Ossetia ended when its forces withdrew to the South Ossetia administrative border on October 10.[340]

Human Rights Watch documented one occasion when Russian forces intervened to help a civilian who was the victim of a crime in progress, and two distinct occasions when Russian forces temporarily set up roadblocks to prevent looting. Yet overall, Russian authorities did not take measures to stop the widespread campaign of destruction and violence against civilians in villages in South Ossetia (see below, Chapters 4.2 and 4.3) and in the buffer zone in undisputed Georgian territory. They allowed these areas to become a virtual no-man's land where individuals were able to commit war crimes-to kill, loot, and burn homes-with impunity. This deliberate violence against civilians started in the immediate aftermath of Georgian forces' withdrawal from South Ossetia and continued in waves in the weeks that followed; concomitantly, Russian forces' failure to ensure protection of civilians in territories under their control was persistent. Russian forces therefore violated their obligation as an occupying power to "ensure public order and safety" and to provide security to the civilian population in the territory under its control. This is a serious violation of international humanitarian law.[341]

Russia bore responsibility but took no discernable measures on behalf of protected individuals, including prisoners of war, at least several of whom were executed or tortured, ill-treated, or subjected to degrading treatment by South Ossetian forces, at times with the participation of Russian forces.

The Russian Ministry of Defense has not responded to Human Rights Watch's request for information about the Russian military's mandate, measures taken, and instructions issued to protect civilians in areas of Georgia under Russia's effective control. In October an official from the Council of Europe who requested anonymity told Human Rights Watch that a senior member of the Russian military in the region said that the military was given no mandate for protection of civilians.[342]

Russian authorities have also not responded to Human Rights Watch's request for information about any measures taken to hold responsible perpetrators of the grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions by Russian forces described in the chapters above.

In South Ossetia

On August 13, following several media reports about the massive looting and burning in ethnic Georgian villages in South Ossetia, Russian Minister of Internal Affairs Rashid Nurgaliev stated that looting in South Ossetia "shall be decisively stopped.[343] That day Russian forces established checkpoints at both ends of a key road connecting the town of Java to Tskhinvali, thus preventing access to five ethnic Georgian villages along that road. At the checkpoint near the village of Kekhvi the commanding officer, a Russian lieutenant colonel, told Human Rights Watch: "We're now trying to stop the looters. They steal and set fire to things … I see no end to this."[344]

Human Rights Watch observed that the checkpoints significantly reduced the pillaging and destruction in the villages and that Russian servicemen at the roadblocks approached their duties conscientiously despite the evident and, at times, aggressive resentment of Ossetian militias.[345] About a week later, however, without any explanation, the checkpoints were removed and the pillaging and destruction resumed, as described below in Chapters 4.2 and 4.3. Russian authorities have not responded to Human Rights Watch's request for information about why the roadblocks were removed.

In an interview with the BBC in October, Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov at first denied and then attempted to explain away the destruction of ethnic Georgian villages: "No, this is not ethnic cleansing. This was also the area of the war. When I say that the Georgians were moving their artillery and tanks closer to Tskhinvali, this also included the Georgian enclaves in South Ossetia, where they secretly organized strongholds."[346] The correspondent stressed to Lavrov that Ossetian militias told the BBC directly that they were burning civilian houses, and suggested that Russia should have "prevented that from happening."[347] Lavrov notably did not respond to this point about Russia's duty and capacity to prevent the destruction. He acknowledged that the destruction was regrettable, but offered a dismissive explanation: "Well, of course, when your city is attacked, when your loved ones, when your relatives, when your children, when your parents, brothers and sisters are being killed, brutally, you can go emotional and you can go really [emotional] in a very unwanted way."[348]

Several people told Human Rights Watch that Russian ground forces in general did not attack local residents and in some cases tried to protect the civilian population from Ossetian forces, militia members, or criminal elements.

For example, late in the evening on August 11, Gocha Demetrashvili, 44, drove to South Ossetia to evacuate his parents. After he passed through Eredvi, two UAZ military vehicles started following him. The vehicle's occupants, whom Demetrashvili described as Ossetians in camouflage, fired at his car, shooting out the two rear tires. Demetrashvili continued on, hoping to get to the Russian military checkpoint in Dmenisi. As he approached Dmenisi, he got out and began to run towards the Russian checkpoint, shouting, "I am a civilian. I need help!" Several of the Ossetians got out of their cars and chased Demetrashvili. He described to Human Rights Watch what happened next:

The Ossetians caught up to me and began beating me their fists and their gun butts and kicking me.… They had me at gunpoint, and I thought they wanted to shoot me. That's when some of the Russian soldiers came up to us and took me away from the Ossetians.

The Ossetians drove off with Demetrashvili's car, and the Russian soldiers kept Demetrashvili at their checkpoint for three nights, apparently reluctant to let him go for fear that Ossetians might again attack him. On the third day, Russian troops escorted Demetrashvili through the nearby Ossetian villages from where he walked on his own approximately 30 kilometers back to Gori.[349] (It bears noting, however, that Russian forces did not apprehend the assailants, and allowed them to drive off with Demetrashvili's car.)

In Gori District

As Russian forces established control in portions of Gori district, they set up checkpoints in the south of the district and strictly limited entry and exit from the south. While in most cases Russian forces permitted civilians to pass through the checkpoints after checking identification documents and inspecting vehicles for weapons, they refused access to Georgian police, preventing them from maintaining law and order in these areas.

Two residents of Tkviavi, a village 12 kilometers south of Tskhinvali that was particularly hard hit by looters from South Ossetia, told Human Rights Watch that the looting decreased when the Russian forces maintained a checkpoint in the village, although the marauders kept coming during the night.[350]

Several Tkviavi villagers told Human Rights Watch that they believed that more frequent patrolling by the Russian forces or Georgian police would have improved security in the area. One told Human Rights Watch that looters "seemed to be afraid to encounter the Russians, and were hiding from them," suggesting that had Russian forces taken more preventive measures to stop violence against civilians these measures would have been effective.[351]