FIRST SECTION

DECISION

Application no. 24601/09 E.P . against Russia

The European Court of Human Rights (First Section), sitting on 15 September 2020 as a Committee composed of:

Aleš Pejchal , President, Pauliine Koskelo, Tim Eicke, judges , and Renata Degener, Deputy Section Registrar ,

Having regard to the above application lodged on 16 April 2009,

Having regard to the decision of 24 August 2011 to give notice of the application to the Russian Government (“the Government”) for information,

Having regard to the decision of the President of the Section to which the cases had initially been assigned to accede to the applicant ’ s request not to have his name disclosed (Rule 47 § 4 of the Rules of Court),

Having deliberated, decides as follows:

THE FACTS

1 . The applicant, Mr E.P., is a Georgian national, was born in 1939. He was represented before the Court by Mr B. Botchorishvili and Mr I. Khatiashvili , lawyers practising in Tbilisi.

2 . The applicant submitted various complaints in the context of events relating to the conflict in August 2008 (see Dzhioyeva and Others v. Georgia ( dec. ), nos. 24964/09, 20548/09 and 22469/09, § 14, 20 November 2018).

COMPLAINTS

3 . Relying on Articles 2, 3 and 8 of the Convention and Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 to the Convention the applicant, allegedly a resident of the village of Nabakevi (Abkhazia [1] ), complained of having had to hide in the forest during the events of August 2008, having been physically and verbally assaulted by Russian soldiers as a result of which he had undergone medical treatment at a hospital in Zugdidi, having been robbed of movable property, and of the stress caused by the continued presence of Russian soldiers on the ground. Relying on Article 2 of Protocol No. 4 to the Convention the applicant also complained, in general terms, of the violation of his freedom of movement. Relying on Articles 13 and 14 of the Convention, the applicant complained of the absence of an effective remedy in respect of his complaints and of having suffered discrimination in the enjoyment of his rights on the basis of nationality.

4 . To support his claims, the applicant submitted to the Court a medical note dated 14 April 2009 issued by a Tbilisi-based doctor apparently employed by the Organisation representing him. That document referred to the applicant ’ s own account of events as a result of which he had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. He also submitted various documents relating to the events of August 2008 in general.

THE LAW

5 . The Court has already dealt with similar complaints and made findings regarding the issue of non-exhaustion of domestic remedies under Article 35 § 1 of the Convention and a duty incumbent on applicants to substantiate their grievances by supplying evidence in support of their claims in the previous cases against Georgia which concerned events relating to the conflict of August 2008 (see Dzhioyeva and Others v. Georgia ( dec. ), nos. 24964/09, 20548/09 and 22469/09, §§ 23-30 , 20 November 2018 ; Naniyeva and Bagayev v. Georgia ( dec. ), nos. 2256/09 and 2260/09, §§ 19 ‑ 26, 20 November 2018; and Kudukhova v. Georgia ( dec. ), nos. 8274/09 and 8275/09, §§ 21-28, 20 November 2018). These considerations also apply in the present case.

6 . In particular, the Court would reiterate that it is not a tribunal of facts and cannot, without appropriate assistance on the part of the applicants, establish the factual account of complex events, such as situations of armed conflict (see Naniyeva and Bagayev , cited above, § 39) .

7 . T he Court recognises that the applicant ’ s allegations are of a serious nature. However, in support of his complaints under Articles 2 and 3 of the Convention about having been adversely affected by the events related to the conflict of 2008, and having been physically and verbally assaulted (see paragraph 3 above), the applicant submitted a medical note issued by a Tbilisi-based doctor apparently employed by the Organisation representing his interests before the Court. It was issued several months after the alleged events and repeated the applicant ’ s account, without the doctor having had the possibility of objectively confirming whether the applicant had been present at the site of the events of the conflict at the material time. Such material cannot make up for the applicant ’ s failure to present prima facie evidence in respect of his whereabouts during the conflict.

8 . The applicant failed to provide the Court with convincing prima facie evidence that the hostilities took place in his proximity with such intensity and in a manner that would have directly endangered his life or raise an issue of treatment prohibited by Article 3. Moreover, there is no sufficient indication that the diagnosis described in the relevant medical note had been related to the events of the conflict. That being so, the Court finds his complaints under Article 2 and Article 3 of the Convention to be unsubstantiated.

9 . Accordingly, this part of the application must be rejected as manifestly ill-founded, in accordance with Article 35 §§ 3 (a) and 4 of the Convention.

10 . The Court reiterates that it was for the applicant to provide sufficient prima facie evidence in support of his complaints under Article 8 of the Convention, Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 and Article 2 of Protocol No. 4 about the alleged destruction of property and his inability to move freely in the context of the events related to the conflict. However, no evidence to demonstrate ownership of property, its destruction, or any link with the relevant village was submitted.

11 . The Court accepts that situations arising from an armed conflict imply specific circumstances which may create obstacles for adducing evidence. It is, however, aware that many applicants before the Court, whose complaints stem from the particular context of the hostilities in the during the same period of time and who raise similar issues, have been able to submit various items of documentary evidence, including documents from the local authorities attesting to their residence in the relevant villages, the damage suffered and its extent. Regarding the present case, the Court cannot but note that the applicant did not provide any specific explanation as to why no documentatio n at all could be adduced (see, mutatis mutandis, Lisnyy and Others v. Ukraine and Russia ( dec. ), nos. 5355/15, 44913/15 and 50853/15 , §§ 27-30, 5 July 2016; and Dzhioyeva and Others , cited above, § 30).

12 . The Court therefore finds that the applicant ’ s complaints are unsubstantiated and must be rejected as manifestly ill-founded, in accordance with Article 35 §§ 3 (a) and 4 of the Convention.

13 . Having regard to the fact that Article 14 is not autonomous (see Vallianatos and Others v. Greece [GC], nos. 29381/09 and 32684/09, § 72, ECHR 2013 (extracts) ) and the conclusion that the above complaints under Articles 2, 3 and 8 of the Convention, Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 to the Convention and Article 2 of Protocol No. 4 to the Convention are manifestly ill-founded (see paragraphs 9 and 12 above) , the applicant ’ s claims under Article 14 of the Convention are likewise manifestly ill ‑ founded.

14 . As regards Article 13 of the Convention, this provision only applies to “arguable” complaints (see KudÅ‚a v. Poland [GC], no. 30210/96, § 157, ECHR 2000 ‑ XI).

15 . It follows that the remainder of the application is manifestly ill ‑ founded and must be rejected under Article 35 §§ 3 (a) and 4 of the Convention.

For these reasons, the Court, unanimously,

Declares the application inadmissible.

Done in English and notified in writing on 8 October 2020 .

Renata Degener Aleš Pejchal Deputy Registrar President

[1] The term ‘Abkhazia’ refers to the region of Georgia which is beyond de facto control of the Georgian Government.