Illegally arrested Georgian citizen Gela Gochoshvili released from Russian-occupied Tskhinvali prison
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Illegally arrested Georgian citizen Gela Gochoshvili has been released from prison in Russian-occupied Tskhinvali region, the Georgian State Security Service reported earlier today.
Occupation forces arrested Gochoshvili on August 14, charged him with illegal border crossing and sentenced him to a year in prison.
The security service said that the Georgian government 'actively uses all available mechanisms' to ensure the release of the illegally arrested Georgian citizens.
The illegal detention of Georgian citizens is a common issue near the occupation line, and the detainees are usually released after their families pay a fine.
However, there have been several cases of Georgian citizens dying while in arrest.
Russia recognised the Georgian regions of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali as independent states in the wake of the Russo-Georgian war in 2008.
Only Venezuela, Nicaragua, Nauru, and Syria have taken the same step of recognition so far.
The rest of the international community asserts that Abkhazia and Tskhinvali regions are occupied by Russia and urge the country to withdraw its troops from the Georgian territory.
Seven illegally arrested Georgian citizens remain in de facto Tskhinvali prison, the Democracy Research Institute NGO reports. The DRI reports that the arrest of Georgian citizens on charges of ‘illegal border crossing’ without any legal basis has become more frequent as a consequence of active ‘borderisation’. The Georgian authorities do not have a clear public position on the issue.
Russian occupation forces have illegally arrested Georgian citizen Mamuka Chkhikvadze near Zemo Nikozi village in Gori municipality earlier today.
The release of Georgian citizen Gela Gochoshvili who was detained by the Russian occupation forces several months ago, and the illegal ‘borderisation’ process remained at the top of agenda of the 103th Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism (IPRM) which was held in Ergneti earlier today.
llegally 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.
Russian occupation forces have illegally arrested two Georgian citizens near Gremiskhevi village in Dusheti municipality, the Georgian State Security Service reported earlier this evening.