Illegally detained Georgian citizen Zaza Gakheladze released from Russia-occupied Tskhinvali prison
Zaza Gakheladze, a resident of the village of Kvemo Chala in Kaspi Municipality was shot, wounded and illegally detained by the occupation forces on July 11, 2020. Photo: Zaza Gakheladze's Facebook page.
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Illegally detained Georgian citizen Zaza Gakheladze has been ‘pardoned’ today by the de facto president of the Russian occupied region of Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) Anatoly Bibilov.
Zaza Gakheladze had been illegally detained by Russian occupying forces for more than a year.
The Georgian government has been demanding the release of Zaza Gakheladze for a year on the international level within the framework of various negotiating platforms.
The unconditional release of Georgian citizens illegally detained by occupation forces was in the focus of the 101st meeting of the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism (IPRM) held yesterday in Ergneti.
Georgian Catholics Patriarch Ilia II sent a letter to Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, Kirill requesting the release of Zaza Gakheladze several weeks ago.
We ask you to petition for [Gakheladze’s] release from prison and return him to his family. We understand that this is a difficult issue, but it should be taken into account that Gakheladze got there accidentally. His release will bring joy to all the Georgian people, who sincerely sympathise with him for this misunderstanding,” said the letter.
Family members of illegally detained Zaza Gakheladze only once managed to visit him in Tskhinvali prison with the involvement of the Red Cross.
In June Gakheladze’s family members held a march in the village of Kvemo Chala and planned to hold a protest rally and block the highway.
The de facto Supreme Court of the Russian-occupied Tskhinvali region sentenced Zaza Gakheladze to 12 years and six months of imprisonment.
Gakheladze was charged with two articles of the Russian Criminal Code - attempted murder and illegal crossing of the border.
Zaza Gakheladze, a resident of the village of Kvemo Chala in Kaspi Municipality was shot, wounded and illegally detained by the occupation forces on July 11, 2020.
Georgian citizen Zaza Gakheladze, who was shot and illegally detained by Russian-controlled occupation forces in the summer of 2020, has been sentenced to 12 years and six months in prison by the de facto Supreme Court of the Russian-occupied Tskhinvali region.
The unconditional release of Georgian citizens illegally detained by occupation forces has been at the top of the agenda of the 101st meeting of the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism (IPRM), which was held today in Ergneti, close to the Russian occupied region of Tskhinvali (South Ossetia). The issue of releasing Zaza Gakheladze and Genadi Bestaev, who are illegally detained in a prison in Tskhinvali, was discussed at the meeting.
The de facto government of Georgia’s Russian-occupied Tskhinvali region says that a rally planned by the family of illegally convicted Georgian citizen Zaza Gakheladze tomorrow near the occupation line ‘is a provocation.’
The Georgian government has established a commission to create a Georgian State Strategy for Deoccupation and Peaceful Conflict Resolution. The commission will be managed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The commission will be set up with public involvement, and will develop an inclusive and comprehensive state strategy by the end of the year.
US and Italian ambassadors and OSCE Secretary General Helga Maria Schmid have visited the village of Tsitsagiaantkari earlier today near the Russian-controlled Tskhinvali region of Georgia, where they attended the opening ceremony of a drinking water reservoir for locals and met the family of Zaza Gakhekadze, a Georgian citizen who has been illegally sentenced to 12 years in prison by de facto Tskhinvali.
After six months of pre-trial detention, the so-called trial of illegally detained Zaza Gakheladze was held today in Russia-occupied Tskhinvali region. RFE/RL reports that several witnesses and Gakheladze were questioned at the hearing.
Zaza Gakheladze, an illegally detained Georgian citizen who was ‘pardoned’ by the de facto president of the Russian-occupied Georgian region of Tskhinvali (South Ossetia), says he did not expect to be released today.
The international community has welcomed the release of Georgian citizen Zaza Gakheladze after more than a year of illegal detention in Georgia’s Russian-occupied region of Tskhinvali (South Ossetia). Gakheladze, who was shot and illegally detained by Russian-controlled occupation forces in the summer 2020 and sentenced to 12 years and six months in prison, was ‘pardoned’ by the de facto president of Tskhinvali yesterday.
Illegally arrested Georgian citizen Gela Gochoshvili has been released from prison in Russian-occupied Tskhinvali region, the Georgian State Security Service reported earlier today.