Russia’s border guards kidnap elderly man near Tskhinvali ABL

Earlier today border guards kidnapped 65-year-old Akaki Misireli from Georgian controlled territory. Photo by N.Alavidze/Agenda.ge.
Agenda.ge, 02 Jun 2016 - 14:26, Tbilisi,Georgia

An elderly Georgian man has been kidnapped and detained by Russian-controlled border guards near the Administrative Boundary Line (ABL) separating Georgia from its breakaway Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region.

The 65-year-old man was detained by border guards who patrol between Georgia and its north-eastern occupied region.

The man, named Akaki Misireli, was a resident of Kere village in eastern Georgia’s Gori municipality, which is located near the Administrative Boundary Line (ABL) separating Georgia and occupied Tskhinvali (South Ossetia).

Misireli has already been sent to a detention centre in Tskhinvali, said village locals.

The locals added Misireli had been kidnapped from territory controlled by Georgia and accused of "illegally crossing the border”.

The Kere village residents said the Misireli family would have to pay a fine in exchange for the man’s release.