BEGHELURI AND OTHERS v. GEORGIA - 28490/02 - Chamber Judgment [2014] ECHR 1032 (07 October 2014)

BEGHELURI AND OTHERS v. GEORGIA - 28490/02 - Chamber Judgment [2014] ECHR 1032 (07 October 2014)

The Court found that the applicants were subjected to religiously motivated violence and that the Georgian authorities failed to prevent, investigate, or provide redress for these acts. This failure constituted violations of Articles 3 (prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment), 9 (freedom of religion), 13 (right to an effective remedy), and 14 (prohibition of discrimination) of the Convention. The authorities’ inaction and, in some cases, complicity, created an atmosphere of impunity and amounted to discriminatory treatment based on religion.

Citation
[2014] ECHR 1032
Parties
Applicants: Begheluri and Others; Respondent: Georgia
Jurisdiction
European Union
Judgment Date
07 October 2014
Procedural Posture
Application Under Article 34 ECHR / Judgment on Merits and Admissibility
Outcome
Application allowed in part; violations found
Legal Topics
Freedom of Religion, Prohibition of Discrimination, Right to Effective Remedy, Prohibition of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment, Freedom of Assembly, Freedom of Expression
Human Rights Law Constitutional Law Freedom of Religion Prohibition of Discrimination Right to Effective Remedy Prohibition of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment Freedom of Assembly Freedom of Expression

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Parties

Begheluri and Others

Applicants

Georgia

Respondent

Procedural Posture

Application Under Article 34 ECHR / Judgment on Merits and Admissibility

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the applicants suffered violations of their rights under Articles 3, 6, 9, 10, 11, 13 and 14 of the Convention due to religiously motivated violence and the authorities' failure to prevent, stop or redress such violations.

Ratio Decidendi

The Court found that the applicants were subjected to religiously motivated violence and that the Georgian authorities failed to prevent, investigate, or provide redress for these acts. This failure constituted violations of Articles 3 (prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment), 9 (freedom of religion), 13 (right to an effective remedy), and 14 (prohibition of discrimination) of the Convention. The authorities’ inaction and, in some cases, complicity, created an atmosphere of impunity and amounted to discriminatory treatment based on religion.

Court Disposition

Application allowed in part; violations found

Orders

  • Georgia to pay just satisfaction to the applicants for non-pecuniary damage and costs and expenses.
  • Georgia to take measures to ensure effective protection of religious minorities and to conduct effective investigations into similar future incidents.