Council of Europe Issues Sweeping Demands to Russia Over Occupied Georgian Territories
By Messenger Staff
Friday, May 8, 2026
The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe adopted its 13th decision on the Conflict in Georgia on May 6, reiterating "unequivocal support" for Georgia's sovereignty and territorial integrity while issuing a broad set of demands to Russia over its actions in the occupied Abkhazia and Tskhinvali regions.
More than 17 years after the August 2008 war, the decision said Russia "continues to impede the peaceful conflict resolution process," pointing to its "illegal military presence," increased military exercises, infrastructure reinforcements, the installation of fences in the Chorchana/Tsnelisi area, and steps toward the "de facto annexation" of both regions. Russia's 2025 decision to introduce a simplified procedure for granting its citizenship to residents of the two regions was also flagged, with the Committee saying all such moves "have no legal effect and further aggravate the situation on the ground."
The decision welcomed a series of European Court of Human Rights judgments establishing Russia's responsibility, as the state exercising effective control over both regions, for grave human rights violations committed after the 2008 war, among them "killing, torture, ill-treatment and arbitrary detention of Georgian civilians and military personnel," the "looting and burning of Georgian homes," and depriving displaced persons of the right to return.
The Committee expressed "grave" and "profound" concern over the deteriorating human rights situation in both regions, citing restrictions on crossing points, the continued installation of razor and barbed wire fences separating families and communities, and persistent impunity in the deaths of ethnic Georgians David Basharuli, Giga Otkhozoria, Archil Tatunashvili, Tamaz Ginturi, Vitali Karbaia, and Irakli Kvaratskhelia.
Particular concern was raised over discrimination against ethnic Georgians in the Gali and Akhalgori districts, including restrictions on freedom of movement, residence, and property rights, demands to change surnames and ethnic identity, limits on Georgian-language education, and blocked access to religious sites, graveyards, and farming lands. The Committee also flagged the demolition of Georgian IDPs' homes in the Tskhinvali region, the "obliteration and alteration of Georgian features" of cultural heritage monuments, and a decision by Abkhazia's de facto parliament stripping inheritance rights from those deemed to have fought against its self-proclaimed independence in the 1992-1993 war. A separate Abkhazian decision allowing for the death penalty in drug-related cases was strongly condemned.
The detention of Georgian citizens drew grave concern, with the Committee specifically naming Kristine Takalandze, Giorgi Mosiashvili, and Irakli Bebua, and noting that some cases, including that of Genadi Bestaev, had resulted in death.
The Committee called on Russia to immediately release Takalandze, Shalva Khizanishvili, and all other detained individuals, resume the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism meetings in Gali, suspended since 2018, ensure conditions for the voluntary and dignified return of all IDPs and refugees, end ethnic discrimination, cease arbitrary detentions along the dividing line, and reopen crossing points. It further demanded that Russia grant unrestricted access to Council of Europe bodies in both regions, execute ECtHR judgments, and cooperate with the International Criminal Court.
