Anatoly Bibilov: The crimes committed against the South Ossetian people by Mikheil Saakashvili have no limitation period

The crimes committed against the South Ossetian people by ex-President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili and his team have no limitation period, - Anatoly Bibilov, de facto president of the occupied region of South Ossetia, said in an interview with Tass.

According to him, "the Republic's investigative bodies launched criminal cases against the highest authorities of Georgia, which started the war against South Ossetia, as early as 2008."

"The South Ossetian side declared 76 people, led by Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, internationally wanted. The crimes committed during the tragic events of the August aggression may not have a limitation period. There will always be persecution of these people. The actions of the Georgian leadership have a direct connection with the genocide of the Ossetian people,” Bibilov said.

He is convinced that "sooner or later Saakashvili and those responsible for launching a war against South Ossetia will be punished."

“Saakashvili today has some protection from the West and the United States. However, I think that common sense will one day prevail, and both Americans and Europeans will realize that Saakashvili is a culprit and should be judged not on the basis of the Criminal Code of Georgia but the principles of international law – for crimes against humanity. Sooner or later he will be held accountable," the de facto president said.

He added that more than 1,500 individual cases of South Ossetian residents have been filed against Georgia with the European Court of Human Rights.

"We remain hopeful that common sense will prevail and the European Court of Human Rights will duly assess the crimes committed by the Georgian authorities and Georgian military on the territory of South Ossetia," Bibilov said.