The Pre-Trial Chamber of the International Criminal Court in The Hague has issued arrest warrants for three former "high-ranking South Ossetian officials". The Prosecutor's Office of Georgia spread the above information.

Arrest warrants were issued against Mikheil Mindzaev, Hamlet Guchmazov and Davit Sanakoev.

"Georgia has achieved another great success in the international courts in the case of the August 2008 war. In particular, following the January 21, 2021 ruling of the Strasbourg court, according to which the Russian Federation violated several articles of the European Convention on Human Rights during the August 2008 war, the Pre-Trial Chamber of the International Criminal Court in The Hague issued arrest warrants against three former South Ossetian officials.

Arrest warrants were issued against Mikheil Mindzaev, Hamlet Guchmazov and Davit Sanakoev. Mindzaev was the de facto Tskhinvali interior minister from 2005-2008, Guchmazov was the head of the pre-trial division of the de facto ministry of internal affairs during the 2008 war, and Davit Sanakoev was the then de facto president’s representative for human rights.

The arrest warrants issued by the Hague Tribunal concern the unlawful deprivation of liberty, torture and ill-treatment, hostage-taking and subsequent illegal transfer of ethnic Georgians during the August 2008 war. All of these actions constitute the gravest war crimes. The court emphasizes that the said crimes were committed in the context of the occupation carried out by the Russian Federation. The investigation by the Office of the Prosecutor has also revealed the role of Vyacheslav Borisov, a major general and deputy chief of the Russian Armed Forces, in committing alleged crimes, although he has died.

Arrest warrants issued by the Pre-Trial Chamber will be sent to all relevant States to ensure the detention of these persons" reads the statement released by the Prosecutor’s Office.