World court hears Georgian lawsuit against Russia

A lawsuit brought by Georgia against Russia is being heard at the UN International Court of Justice in the Hague.

On the first day of preliminary hearings, Tbilisi has accused Moscow of committing human rights violations against ethnic Georgians in South Ossetia and Abkhazia. It claims hundreds of thousands of its nationals have been persecuted and forced from their homes.

Russia has denied the charges, and has told the court it does not have the jurisdiction to hear the lawsuit.

Judges are holding three days of emergency hearings to decide if there is a case to answer. The lawsuit accuses Moscow of breaking an anti-discrimination convention agreed by both sides in the past.

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