Man detained at conditional border with Azerbaijan charged with weapons possession, hostage-taking

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.

• Georgian MIA detains one for illegal purchase, possession of firearms and hostage-taking on Georgia-Azerbaijani 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.