De facto Abkhazia refuses to release killer border guard to Georgia

After a four-year break the second meeting of the Gali International Pretension and Response Mechanism (IPRM) meeting was held yesterday where representatives from Georgia and breakaway Abkhazia region sat down to discuss the ongoing challenges facing the two sides.

Similar to the first IPRM meeting at the end of May, the focus of the second gathering was the brutal murder of a Georgian citizen by a Russian-controlled border guard in May at the Administrative Boundary Line (ABL) separating Georgia and de facto Abkhazia. 

Yesterday’s meeting lasted for four hours. At the meeting it was confirmed the border guard responsible for Giga Otkhozoria’s death – an Abkhazian man named Rashid Kanji-oglu – had been sentenced for his actions.

Afterwards Georgia’s Minister for Reconciliation and Civil Equality Paata Zakareishvili said this was the first time in 25 years when a man had been sentenced for killing a Georgian citizen in the breakaway region. 

The [border guard] was sentenced to home detention. An investigation is in progress in de facto Abkhazia,” said Zakareishvili.

We have handed them all our information that could be useful during the investigation process. There are no signs the investigation might be suspended or face any obstacles,” he added. 

The Georgian side hoped the border guard responsible for the killing would face a tougher punishment for his actions. 

Zakareishvili also told media that Georgia addressed the de facto Abkhazian authorities to hand the border guard over to Georgia to be tried for his crime however the de facto side refused this appeal.

I had and have no illusions this would happen,” Zakareishvili added. 

Otkhozoria, a 31-year-old Georgian man, was shot six times by a Russian-controlled border guard on May 19 while he was on Georgian territory. He left behind a wife and two children.