US mission to OSCE calls for immediate release of Georgian doctor abducted by occupation forces
The US mission to OSCE released its statement regarding illegally detained Georgian doctor late yesterday. Photo: US mission to the OSCE.
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The US mission to OSCE has called upon for the “immediate release” of a well-known Georgian physician and president of the Association of Orthopedists and Traumatologists of Georgia, Vazha Gaprindashvili, who was abducted by occupation forces on November 9 and has been sentenced to pretrial detention for “deliberately crossing the border.”
The US mission to OSCE also called for the “immediate end” to closures of the crossing points between Georgia and its Russian-occupied Tskhinvali region, which has been closed by the de facto government of Tskhinvali starting September 4, 2019, creating a severe humanitarian situation on the ground.
We reiterate our full support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia within its internationally recognized borders. We once again urge Russia to fulfill all of its obligations under the 2008 ceasefire agreement, including the withdrawal of its forces to pre-conflict positions and the provision of free access for humanitarian assistance to these regions, as well to reverse its recognition of the Georgian regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia (Tskhinvali) as independent states,” the statement reads.
The issue of the illegal detention has been raised again at the OSCE by Georgia’s permanent representative there David Dondua yesterday, providing OSCE ministers with the details of the case.
Doctor Vazha Gaprindashvili was sentenced to two-month pretrial detention in the Russian-occupied Tskhinvali region on November 15. Photo: Firefly World.
The de facto security committee of Tskhinvali said yesterday that Gaprindashvili “deliberately crossed the border and the step was well-planned.”
Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia has stated that the government agencies are working in a 24-hour regime to achieve the release of doctor Vazha Gaprindashvili by occupation forces.
Georgian Foreign Minister David Zalkaliani has raised the issue with High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini, acting chair of OSCE Miroslav Lajcak, Deputy Secretary General of UN Rosemary DiCarlo and Deputy Secretary General of NATO Mircea Geoana, the Georgian Foreign Ministry reported yesterday.
A number of officials and organisations, including President Salome Zurabishvili and the United States Embassy to Georgia, have expressed their support to Gaprindashvili.
The Georgian Foreign Ministry said on November 16 that they are doing their best to ensure the safe return of the doctor.
The de facto security committee of Georgia’s Russian-occupied Tskhinvali region says that famous Georgian doctor Vazha Gaprindashvili, who was abducted by occupation forces on November 9, “deliberately crossed the border and the step was well-planned.”The de facto agency reports that during the interrogation Gaprindashvili said that he “deliberately crossed the border as he was going to the church in the village of Monastery.”
Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia has stated that government agencies are working in a 24-hour regime to achieve the release of illegally detained famous Georgia doctor Vazha Gaprindashvili by occupation forces. Gaprindashvili was abducted by occupation forces, near the Russian-controlled Tskhinvali region, on November 9 and has been sentenced to two-month pretrial detention for “deliberately crossing the border.
Vazha Gaprindashvili, a Georgian doctor who was detained and sentenced to two-month pretrial detention by de facto Tskhinvali authorities, has sent a letter to his family via the International Committee of the Red Cross earlier this week, saying he feels normal.
Georgian Foreign Minister David Zalkaliani has raised the issue of the abduction of famous Georgian doctor Vazha Gapridashvili with High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini, acting chair of OSCE Miroslav Lajcak, Deputy Secretary General of UN Rosemary DiCarlo and Deputy Secretary General of NATO Mircea Geoana. "To put aside politics, the action is totally unacceptable from a humanitarian point of view,” Zalkaliani said.
Amnesty International says that famous Georgian doctor Vazha Gaprindashvili, who was abducted by Russian-controlled occupation forces on November 9, must be “immediately released” and the de facto government of Georgia’s Russian-occupied Tskhinvali region must reopen crossing points with the rest of Georgia.
Movement along the Enguri Bridge crossing point between occupied Abkhazia and the rest of Georgia has been restricted, after two people were killed in Sokhumi at noon yesterday. The media reports that people are being allowed to enter Abkhazia but not to leave the region.
Former Russian Deputy FM Gregory Karasin, who still represents Russia in economic talks with Georgia, says that his country, which exercises effective control of Georgia’s two occupied regions of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali, “is closely observing the situation” around a well-known Georgian doctor Vazha Garindashvili, who was abducted by Russian controlled occupation forces on November 9.
Georgia has new ambassadors to Great Britain, Germany and Greece, Georgian Foreign Ministry reported earlier today.