Georgian citizens arrested by occupation forces in Abkhazia released

Three Georgian citizens were released by de-facto authorities in the country's occupied north-western province of Abkhazia on Friday, after spending nearly six weeks following their arrest for crossing the "state border".

The three individuals crossed the bridge over River Enguri, which delineates the administrative boundary line separating the Russian-occupied Abkhazia from the Georgian-controlled territory, on Friday evening before making comments for the local media.

They told reporters the de-facto authorities agreed to release them after a "court" hearing and following their families paying fines for the crossing of the ABL. The citizens told the press they had been on their way to work on "our territory" as they were arrested by the occupation forces on June 7.

The arrests took place near the village of Muzhava of the Tsalenjikha Municipality and the village of Lekukhona of the Gali Municipality. Both municipalities are part of the Samegrelo province adjacent to occupied Abkhazia.