4 years since brutal murder of Georgian citizen Giga Otkhozoria by occupying forces

Four years have passed since the brutal murder of Georgian citizen Giga Otkhozoria by Russian-controlled border guards in the village of Khurcha, near Georgia’s western Russian-occupied region of Abkhazia.

Otkhozoria was trying to transport food into the breakaway Abkhazia region for a funeral ceremony for his late aunt on May 19, 2016, when so-called border guards demanded he pay in exchange for being allowed to transport the goods, which caused a dispute.

The State Representative of Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti and the Mayor of Zugdidi arrived at the cemetery of Otkhozoria earlier today. They promised the family members of Otkhozoria that united Georgia together with Abkhaz and Ossetian brothers will become a member of a single European family.

Otkhozoria was on Georgian-controlled territory when he was shot six times by so-called border-guard, Rashid Kanjiogli.

• First IPRM meeting in 4 years: Murder of Georgian man near ABL subject of Georgia-Abkhazia talks

Although the offender is known to the public and was sentenced by Zugdidi City Court to 14-years imprisonment, the leadership of Georgia's Russian-occupied Abkhazia region refuses to punish him.

The brutal murder of Giga Otkhozoria and the fact that his killer has not been punished until now is the real face of the occupation, the cruelty and injustice… We are not going to give up and put up with the fact that the killer may remain unpunished. This is and will be one of the most important issues in all formats of negotiation... We will spare no effort to end the occupation and resolve the conflict peacefully”, said  State Minister for Reconciliation and Civic Equality of Georgia Ketevan Tsikhelashvili earlier today.

Otkhozoria left behind a wife and two children.

Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili awarded the family of Giga Otkhozoria with the Medal for Civil Commitment in January 2019.