De-facto Tskhinvali says Georgian who illegally crossed so-called border was going to catch bats in Russian-controlled territory
Georgia’s State security Service told RFE/RL the European Union Monitoring mission hotline had been informed about the incident since the arrest and efforts were made to release the man from custody. Photo: shutterstock.
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The so-called security committee of Russian-occupied Tskhinvali reports a Georgian citizen who ‘illegally crossed the so-called border’ on July 3 was going to catch bats in Russian-controlled territory.
Kvicha Mgebrishvili told the security committee that he was interested in bats that live in the villages of Artsevi and Ghromi in Gori municipality”, reports the security committee of Russian-occupied Tskhinvali region.
In an official statement the committee also says that Mgebrishvili was going to look for bats in populated areas and sell each of them for $5,000.
It is important to explain that bats living in Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region are not used to build nests in populated areas. At the same time, the Lugar Laboratory (The Centre for Public Health) has been showing its interest towards South Ossetian bats since 2012”, reads the statement of the security committee.
The so-called security committee of occupied Tskhinvali also mentioned that the staff of the Lugar Laboratory caught bats in the Shida Kartli region of Georgia in 2012, 2014 and 2018.
Responding the issue, head of the Georgian National Centre for Disease Control Amiran Gamkrelidze said that the information is 'a lie and staged provocation'.
The necessary samples for studies are always collected by relevant staff from the Lugar Laboratory. This information is a lie, a provocation staged by our neighbors. A lot of studies are being done in the Lugar Laboratory. The staff sometimes studies bats in order to find whether they have rabies or other diseases, including other types of coronaviruses. Bats are one of the species that spread lots of diseases... There are special groups who study these specimens", Gamkrelidze said.
Kvicha Mgebrishvili has been under quarantine since his detention in Tskhinvali, which is due to end on July 17.
Georgia’s State security Service told RFE/RL the European Union Monitoring mission hotline had been informed about the incident since the arrest and efforts were made to release the man from custody.
The Lugar Laboratory in Tbilisi will have a new test to diagnose the new China-born coronavirus 2019-nCOV starting February 4, said the head of the National Centre for Disease Control and Public Health Amiran Gamkrelidze.
A Georgian man arrested by occupation forces near the administrative line bordering the occupied Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region earlier this month has been placed under quarantine.
Russia has demanded access to all blocks and documentation of the US-built, Tbilisi Lugar Centre, and once again accused the lab of ‘conducting dangerous experiments’ following yesterday's repeat invitation from Tbilisi to receive Russian experts there. Russia says that they want the visit ‘without the presence of international organisations, in a bilateral format.’
The US Embassy to Georgia says it is happy to see more Georgians are learning about the important work of the Lugar Lab in Tbilisi, which was constructed with the funds allocated by the US government.
The citizen arrested by occupation forces in central Georgia on July 3 has received preliminary detention, extending the unlawful restriction of his freedom, the State Security Service of Georgia has confirmed.
The 96th Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism (IPRM) meeting will be held in Ergneti on July 30 in order to resume the dialogue to reduce tensions and prevent incidents along the South Ossetian/Tskhinvali Administrative Boundary Line.
Khvicha Mghebrishvili, 45, a local of central Georgia's Mejvriskhevi village, who was arrested by occupation forces near the administrative line bordering occupied Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) on July 3 has been sentenced to three months of pre-trial detention by a so-called court of the occupied Tskhinvali region.
Georgian officials have expressed their concern that Georgian citizen Khvicha Mghebrishvili has been recently sentenced to three months of pretrial detention by a so-called court in the Russia-occupied Tskhinvali region.
Georgian citizen Khvicha Mgebrishvili, who had been illegally detained by Russian-controlled occupation forces for 85 days, has been released today. The media reports that Mghebrishvili has already arrived on Tbilisi-controlled territory and will be placed in quarantine, after which he will be able to return to his family.