Man from occupied Abkhazia dies after crossing river to enter Tbilisi-controlled territory
RFE/RL reports that the man had arrived in his village a month ago on his father’s death anniversary and could not go back to the Tbilisi-controlled territory due to the closure of the so-called border with the rest of Georgia. Photo: RFE/RL.
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A man from Georgia’s Russia-occupied Abkhazia has died after crossing the Enguri River to enter Tbilisi-controlled territory to meet with a family member, reports RFE/RL.
Municipal head Elguja Bokuchava told RFE/RL that the man from the village of Otobaia was trying to cross into Georgia’s western city of Zugdidi with his wife and children when he suddenly died. The man was already dead when an ambulance arrived.
RFE/RL reports that the man had arrived in his village a month ago on his father’s death anniversary and could not go back to the Tbilisi-controlled territory due to the closure of the so-called border with the rest of Georgia.
That’s why the man and his family had to go back to Tbilisi-controlled territory by crossing the river.
They hid from police in order to avoid mandatory quarantine or self-isolation.
A similar accident also happened last month. A 65-year-old man from Abkhazia’s Gali district was found dead by locals in the Enguri River. He was trying to cross to Tbilisi-controlled territory to receive his pension.
Georgia’s Russian-occupied Abkhazia region has been completely closed since February 27, when the first case of coronavirus was confirmed in Georgia. Since then locals from the region say they are experiencing a humanitarian crisis.
The Russian controlled Abkhazia region has announced it is barring entry 'to all foreigners except Russians', including the only crossing point connecting the region with the rest of Georgia because of the new, China-born coronavirus.
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.
Residents of Gali in occupied Abkhazia have not received IDP benefits and pensions for four months, said Chairman of the Supreme Council of Abkhazia Jemal Gamakharia.
Georgian Foreign Ministry David Zalkaliani has stated that the humanitarian crisis in Georgia’s Russian-occupied regions [of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali] is one of the major challenges for the government, responding to the recent death of a woman in Tskhinvali due to the closed ‘checkpoint” with the breakaway region. He again raised the issue while meeting with the US Department of States Special Envoy and Coordinator of the Global Engagement Center Lea Gabrielle earlier today.
Irakli Bebua, a young ethnic Georgian man from the Gali district of Russia-occupied Abkhazia, has been detained after setting an Abkhaz flag on fire, while the region was celebrating the day of victory and independence on September 30.
Georgia’s Russia-occupied region of Abkhazia will open the Enguri Bridge crossing point, which connects the occupied region with the rest of the country, until December 10 from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
The de facto police of Georgia’s Russian-occupied Abkhazia region have summoned a 19-year-old Aliona Tania living in the region and her parents for interrogation after the girl said on her TikTok account that ‘Abkhazia is Georgia.’
“The tragic incident near the occupation line once again shows the real face of the Russian occupation… This is a great human tragedy for which the Russian Federation is held fully responsible”, said Georgian Reconciliation Minister Tea Akhvlediani while expressing her condolences over the tragic death of the three Georgian citizens.
Police have detained six individuals during clashes which occurred between activists and law enforcers in front of the ‘Supreme Council of Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia’ earlier today.
The Russian occupation regime has banned movement from Georgia’s occupied Abkhazia region to Tbilisi-controlled territory on October 2, reports the Georgian State Security Service (SSS).