Body of Georgian man who died in Abkhazia handed over to Georgian officials
Enguri Bridge connects occupied Abkhazia with the rest of Georgia. Photo: Tamar Zantaraia/RFERL
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The body of 29-year-old Georgian citizen Irakli Kvaratskhelia, who died in unclear circumstances in occupied Abkhazia, has been handed over to his relatives on Tbilisi-controlled territory.
Deputy State Ministrer for Reconciliation and Civic Equality Ruslan Abashidze and officials from the State Security Service were also waiting for the young man’s body near the Enguri Bridge, connecting occupied Abkhazia with the rest of Georgia.
Ruslan Abashidze said an autopsy and investigation will reveal the reasons of Kvaratskhelia’s death.
The de facto authorities of Abkhazia claim that the young man, who was detained for “illegally crossing” the so-called border, hung himself at the Nabakevi military base.
News of Kvaratskhelia’s death was reported yesterday, however sources fix his death at an earlier date.
Co-chairs of the Geneva Internal Discussions from the EU, UN and EU, dealing with Georgian conflict issues, are in the Russian occupied Abkhazia region of Georgia to discuss the details of the recent death of Georgian citizen Irakli Kvaratskhelia in the region.
All Georgian embassies have received instructions to inform their host countries of the death of 29-year-old Georgian citizen Irakli Kvaratskhelia in the prison of the Georgian occupied Abkhazia region, Georgian Foreign Minister David Zalkaliani said.
The body of the 35-year-old Georgian soldier, Archil Tatunashvili, who died in unclear circumstances in the occupied Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region on February 23, has been handed over to representatives of the government of Georgia several minutes ago, 26 days after his death.
The State Security Service of Georgia reports that a young Georgian man, Irakli Kvaratskhelia, has reportedly committed suicide in the Gali district, in Georgia's Russian-occupied region of Abkhazia. Kvaratskhelia, born in 1990, had been allegedly detained by de-facto authorities.
A post-mortem examination lasting longer than five hours was carried out earlier today to clarify the reasons behind the death of 29-year-old Irakli Kvaratskhelia while in illegal detention in the Georgian occupied Abkhazia region on March 10.
Two Georgian citizens, who were detained near occupied Tskhinvali region for “illegally crossing the border” on March 13, have been released today. Georgian citizens are often detained near the occupation line and are usually released after paying a fine.
The bodies of 12 people who went missing as a result of the military conflicts of the 1990s in Georgia have been laid to rest. Seven of them were fighters, one was a volunteer and four were civilians.
European Union Ambassador to Georgia Carl Hartzell is saddened by the death of Georgian citizen Irakli Kvaratskhelia, who died in unclear circumstances in occupied Abkhazia earlier this week.
Georgian Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze says that all international organisations have been involved and the government will clarify all details and conditions surrounding the death of 29-year-old Georgian man Irakli Kvaratskhelia, who was found hung in an interrogation room in Georgia’s occupied Abkhazia region on March 10.
Occupation of Georgian territories by Russia was strictly condemned by European countries’ delegations during the general debates held by the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on March 22.
Occupying forces have detained Georgian citizen Gocha Pidiuri near the occupation line with the occupied Tskhinvali region for “illegally crossing the border” yesterday. The man was abducted from the village of Mejvriskhevi in Gori municipality.
Two Georgian citizens, who were detained near occupied Tskhinvali region for “illegally crossing the border”, have been released today. Gabriel Melanashvili and Tamaz Mchedlidze, locals of the village of Nikozi, in the Gori municipality of Georgia's Shida Kartli region, were detained late yesterday close to the occupation line with Tskhinvali region.