MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Moscow has provided the International Criminal Court with the Russian Investigative Committee's materials on crimes committed during the military conflict in South Ossetia in 2008, committee spokesman Vladimir Markin said Thursday.
On Wednesday, the court announced that its Pre-Trial Chamber I authorized an investigation for the crimes within the ICC jurisdiction, allegedly committed in and around South Ossetia between July 1 and October 10, 2008.
"The Russian Investigative Committee has carried out a thorough investigation of crimes committed by Georgian forces. All the evidence and materials gathered by the Russian investigators have been submitted to the International Court of Justice," Markin said.
The ICC considers murder, forcible transfer of population and persecution to be crimes against humanity, while attacks against the civilian population, willful killing, intentionally directing attacks against peacekeepers, destruction of property and pillaging are considered war crimes.
In 2008, Georgia launched a military offensive against the breakaway republics of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, which escalated into a five-day war with Russia. Both regions declared independence from Georgia in the early 1990s. Their statehood was recognized by Russia following the 2008 conflict.
