De facto Abkhaz leader’s ‘advisor’ resigns after Alliance of Patriots’ controvesial visit to occupied Abkhazia
Lasha Sakhania said upon his resignation that his ‘Russian friends’ had asked him to take an icon from the Alliance of Patriots. Photo: Lasha Sakhania/Facebook
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Lasha Sakania, the ‘advisor’ to the de facto leader of the Russia-occuied Abkhazia region of Georgia, has resigned amid controversies over his recent meeting with the opposition party the Alliance of Patriots of Georgia.
Sakhania, who had previously claimed that the visit of the Alliance of Patriots had purely humanitarian purposes, announced his resignation today after Abkhaz 'opposition’ discouraged the Georgian opposition's visit.
Vice Parliament Speaker of Georgia, Irma Inashvili, who is also the leader of opposition Alliance of Patriots paid a visit to occupied Abkhazia on August 18 together with her party member Giorgi Lomia.
Inashvili posted the photos of the trip on August 24, noting that the two had visited Abkhazia to donate an icon of Virgin Mary to the Ilori church of St. George in Ochamchire district.
Irma Inashvili at the Ilori Church. Photo: Irma Inashvili/Facebook
Sakhania stated earlier that his ‘old friends’ from the Russian Federation had asked him to help the Alliance of Patriots deliver an icon to the Ilori church and the visit had no political reasons. Irma Inashvili also confirmed to the Tbilisi-based Rustavi 2 TV that it was her party's decision to deliver the icon to the Ilori Church.
How Inashvili and Lomia managed to travel to the Abkhazia region remains a question as the Enguri Bridge connecting the Russia-occupied region with the rest of Georgia has been closed since late February, when the first case of coronavirus was confirmed in Georgia.
Earlier this week Georgian opposition parties demanded the Alliance of Patriots be prohibited from running in the October parliamentary elections as the Dossier Center released its investigative documents saying the Kremlin financially supports its leaders.
A 65-year-old man from Russian-occupied Abkhazia has been found dead by locals in the Enguri River. Municipal head Elguja Bokuchava said the man was trying to cross to Tbilisi-controlled territory to receive his pension.
Georgia’s Russia-occupied Abkhazia region has placed the village of Labra under a 14-day quarantine amid a coronavirus outbreak. The region’s de facto health ministry announced earlier today that a total of five coronavirus cases have been confirmed in the village in recent days, including one death.
A 52-year-old man has died of coronavirus in the village of Labra in Georgia’s Russia-occupied Abkhazia region. This is the fourth person who has died of the virus in the region.
Opposition parties in Georgia demand the Alliance of Patriots of Georgia be prohibited from running in the October parliamentary elections following the release of an investigation of the Dossier Center, which tracks the criminal activities associated with the Kremlin.
Ruling party MP Mamuka Mdinaradze has made a statement today regarding the recent scandal surrounding the Alliance of Patriots of Georgia which was found to have received financial support from the Kremlin for the upcoming parliamentary elections.
The Central Election Commission (CEC) has found that the anti-Turkish ads of the opposition Alliance of Patriots party violate the election code, which says that election program of a political party ‘shall not contain propaganda’ for religious or ethnic confrontation.
Tbilisi City Court has fined opposition Alliance of Patriots of Georgia party 2,000 GEL for violating the election code. Central Election Commission Chairwoman Tamar Zhvania filed an administrative complaint against the Alliance of Patriots of Georgia party on September 10
Worship in churches of Georgia’s Russian-occupied region of Abkhazia has been temporarily suspended until the status of the Abkhaz Orthodox Church has been determined, however the churches remain open to parishioners, the head of the Abkhaz Orthodox Church Father Vissarion (Aplia) said on the air of Abkhaz television, reports Russian media outlet Ria Novosti.