Georgian students in UK condemn Georgian man’s death in occupied Tskhinvali

Georgian students living in London have gathered in front of the Russian Embassy to condemn the death of Georgian citizen Archil Tatunashvili in Georgia’s Russian occupied region of Tskhinvali (South Ossetia).

With the peaceful demonstration, the students demanded the release of Tatunashvili’s body to his family and that those responsible for his death be punished. They also demanded the release of two other Georgian citizens Levan Kutashvili and Ioseb Pavliashvili.

The civil population residing in the occupied territories are under constant threat, as they are deprived of basic human rights and experience arbitrary detention, torture, ill-treatment, no liberty to freedom of movement, right to property or education on a daily basis”, the students said in a joint statement.

According to them, over 120 people were detained and physically abused along the occupation line near the region of Tskhinvali last year.

Tatunashvili’s case represents yet another violation of human rights in the occupied territories of Georgia and the continuation of the politics of ethnic cleansing of Georgians, for which we hold the Russian Federation accountable, since they exercise authority and effective control over the occupied Tskhinvali region", the students said.

They further called for the Russian Federation to allow access to international human rights organisations and monitoring mechanisms into the occupied territories of Georgia to examine the human rights situation and to help put an end to the continued violence against ethnic Georgians in the occupied regions of Georgia.

A similar demonstration will be held in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi on March 4 at Freedom Square. Photo by T. Karelidze

• Tatunashvili and two other Georgian citizens were detained by occupation forces on February 22 in the Akhalgori area, on territory currently controlled by Russians.
• Tskhinvali media announced the death of Tatunashvili on February 23, and stated that the latter had an incident with detention facility staff and fell down a flight of stairs. However, the de facto security service of Tskhinvali claims the man died due to heart failure.
• The Government of Georgia has demanded "clear and comprehensive information” on the death of Tatunashvili in the country’s occupied Tskhinvali.
• The NATO, United States, European Union, and the rest of the international community continue to condemn the death of the Georgian citizen in unclear circumstances in the occupied Tskhinvali region.
• The Tskhinvali leadership refuses to hand over the body as they are waiting for Russian experts to carry out a forensic study.
• Two others detained with Tatunashvili have been released but they cannot leave the occupied territory due to the fact that their identification documents have been confiscated.