Stan Storimans, 39, a veteran of the Dutch journalism, who worked for RTL TV station, was killed in Gori on 12 August; it happened during the bombardment and shooting aimed at the city by the Russian troops. His colleague, Yerun Akkermans got off with slight wounds. He told that a few civilians were also killed near them.    

After inquiries, made with the Georgian and Russian sides, came to so little, the government of the Nederland decided to send an investigative group to the site. The Dutch commission concluded that it was an explosion of a cluster part of the tactic ballistic missile SS-26 “Iskander” to have killed the Dutch cameraman. Last week, the materials of the investigation were passed by Hague to Moscow, “on the top level”.  

On Thursday, the spokesperson for the Russian foreign ministry stated that the evidence, presented by the Dutch side, is not sufficient.  

Commenting on that reaction by the Russian side to a Novaya Gazeta correspondent, the Dutch foreign office spokesperson Ad Meyer mentioned that “the investigation has been carried out by a very experienced military experts and diplomats”. “These are very serious facts for us, and we cannot leave it without consequences” stressed Mr. Meyer. 

The Dutch investigative group has carried out forensic research and has collected the evidence by eye-witnesses. It came to a conclusion that Mr. Storimans was killed with “a charge of a missile that is only present at the Russian ammunition stock”.  

“At the moment, our main task is to establish and publish the facts” said Ad Meyer. “We consider it that the facts have been established. Our next step will be a demarche in the standing council at the OSCE. The Dutch foreign minister Maxime Verhagen will be insisting on a political statement to be made, where all the OSCE members commit not use cluster bombs anymore”.  

In May in Dublin over 100 states signed an agreement about the full ban put on the use of cluster bombs for next eight years. However, Russia and Georgia did not sign that document. Georgia admitted to having used cluster bombs in the district of the Rokskiy Tunnel, while Russia denies flatly any use of this kind of charges in the Russia-Georgia conflict. 

The question by the Novaya Gazeta correspondent about whether Hague is going to be in law against the Russian militaries in relation to the death of Stan Storimans remained unanswered by Mr. Meyer.