Man detained at conditional border with Azerbaijan charged with weapons possession, hostage-taking
A stretch of land 166 km long that now covers a portion of the Georgian-Azerbaijani border is known as the conditional border. Photo: Associated Press/Shah Aivazov.
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Georgian citizen Giorgi Ichukaidze, who was detained by the Georgian Border Policy at Georgian-Azerbaijani conditional border on January 14, has been officially charged with illegal purchase, possession of firearms and hostage-taking.
Georgian Interior Ministry reports that Ichukaidze threatened a Georgian border guard by using firearms and a hand grenade, shot several times in the air and forced him to move towards the conditional border.
The crime is punishable from three to 14 years imprisonment.
The official motive behind the action has not been reported.
Guide Zviad Ananiashvili told Rustavi 2 that Ichukaidze had protest because of the closure of Chichkhituri monastery to perish, which is located on the disputed section of the land and is the part of David Gareji Monastery complex of Georgia.
Several of the witnesses told the media that Ichukaidze attempted to explode himself.
Georgia and Azerbaijani have not agreed on the state border since the collapse of Soviet Union in 1991.
A stretch of land 166 km long that now covers a portion of the Georgian-Azerbaijani border is known as the conditional border.
A Georgian-Azerbaijani commission working on the demarcation of the state border has met several times since it renewed activity on May 14, 2019.
Since 1995 Georgia and Azerbaijan have agreed on 66 per cent of the state border between the two countries, while a special commission composed of state officials from both nations continue work to achieve an agreement on the remaining 34 per cent.
Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia says that the Udabno and Chichkhituri monasteries in Georgia’s 6th Century David Gareji monastery complex, which have been closed by Azerbaijani border guards since the beginning of the year, will reopen to Georgian clerics starting tomorrow.
Azerbaijan’s State Border Service has opened a new border post on the territory of Georgia’s 6th century David Gareji monastery complex, which is located on the conditional border as the border between the two countries has not been agreed since the collapse of Soviet Union back in 1991.
Georgian clerics and public groups are holding a peaceful rally in Georgia’s David Gareji monastery complex, at the conditional border between Georgia and Azerbaijan. The rally comes amid negotiations between Georgia and Azerbaijan on the border, which has not been agreed upon since the collapse of Soviet Union in 1991.
The Azerbaijani border service has warned of possible provocations ‘by a group of Georgian citizens’ near Georgia’s 6th century David Gareji monastery complex, which is located at the conditional border between Georgia and Azerbaijan.