Russian soldiers kidnap two Georgian farmers near occupied Tskhinvali
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Russian border soldiers have kidnapped two Georgian farmers who were herding their cattle near the Administrative Boundary Line (ABL) with Tskhinvali (South Ossetia), one of the country’s occupied territories.
Locals said the two Georgian cattle herders were detained today by armed Russian occupying forces from Dvani village, which is located in the Kareli district on Georgian-controlled territory.
The men have been named as Davit Mindiashvili and Vladimer Makhachashvili.
Since 2009 more than 2,000 Georgian citizens have been detained by Russian border guards at ABLs near Georgia’s occupied Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) and Abkhazia regions.
Dvani village residents said the area where the two men were snatched was a typical place where local farmers grazed their cattle.
Locals said as a rule, Russian border guards and de facto representatives of the occupied territory accused individuals of illegally crossing the so-called border and demanded a ransom in exchange for their release.
Official figures released by local non-governmental organisation Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) revealed more than 2,000 Georgian citizens have been detained by Russian border guards in the past six years.
Specifically, between 2009-2015 the agency said 2,117 Georgian citizens had been kidnapped at ABLs near Georgia’s occupied Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) and Abkhazia regions. The data, based on statistics provided by Georgia’s Interior Ministry, claimed every single detention had been charged with illegally crossing the so-called border.
1,416 have been detained at the ABL with Abkhazia while 701 at the Tskhinvali Administrative Boundary Line,” said IDFI
In 2014 from both ABLs 512 individuals were kidnapped while in the first quarter of 2015 139 individuals have been detained for alleged illegal crossing of the boundary,” said the organisation.
Georgian officials and the international community condemned Russia’s creeping occupation of Georgian soil, and kidnapping of Georgian citizens off Georgian-controlled territory.
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