Four unlawfully detained Georgian citizens released
De facto officials handed the four individuals over to Georgian law enforcers at the Ergneti checkpoint in Gori Municipality on December 24. Photo: IPN.
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Four Georgian citizens illegally detained by Russian occupation forces near the village of Adzvi in Gori municipality have been released.
Russian occupation forces illegally arrested the Georgian citizens yesterday.
De facto officials handed the four individuals over to Georgian law enforcers at the Ergneti checkpoint in Gori Municipality today.
The emergency hotline was activated by the State Security Service (SSS) of Georgia and used throughout the process of securing the release of the illegally detained individuals. Co-chairs of the Geneva discussions and other international partners were also informed of developments.
The government of Georgia [used] all the mechanisms at its disposal to release other illegally detained Georgian citizens. The Russian occupation forces are fully responsible for the destructive actions carried out in the occupied regions and along the occupation line,” the SSS said in a statement, adding that the “…harmful practice of illegal detention significantly worsen the security environment on the ground and threaten the stability of the region.”
The illegal arrest of Georgian citizens is a common issue near the occupation line, and the detainees are usually released after their families pay a fine.
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 acknowledges that the Abkhazia and Tskhinvali regions are occupied by Russia and urges the country to withdraw its troops from Georgian territory.
A total of seven Georgian citizens remain illegally imprisoned by the Russian occupation forces as of December 24, Georgian State Security Service (SSS) representative Giorgi Sabedashvili reported.
Russian occupation forces have illegally arrested four Georgian citizens near the village of Adzvi in Gori municipality. The State Security Service (SSS) of Georgia reported that the European Union Monitoring Mission (EUMM) and co-chairs of the Geneva International Discussions (GID) have been informed about the case.
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.
Kakhaber Natadze, 44, and Vladimer Kaniashvili, 38, arrested illegally by the Russian occupation forces on December 10 near the village of Tsinagara for ‘illegally crossing the border’, have been denied bail by the so-called Tskhinvali court, RFE/RL's Georgian service reports.
The Georgian State Security Service says that illegal detention of Georgian citizens by the Russian-controlled occupation forces for so-called ‘illegally crossing the border’ is a common issue since Russia-Georgia 2008.
Russian occupation forces have illegally arrested two Georgian citizens near the village of Lopani in Khashuri municipality, the State Security Service (SSS) of Georgia reported today.
Georgian citizens Nika Bejitashvili and Kviria Elisbarashvili illegally arrested by Russian occupation forces near Gremiskhevi village in Dusheti municipality yesterday have been released today, the Georgian State Security Service (SSS) reports.
The 104th meeting of the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism took place yesterday in Ergneti, under the co-facilitation of the Ambassador Marek Szczygiel, Head of the EU Monitoring Mission in Georgia (EUMM), and Ambassador Viorel Mosanu, newly appointed Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office for the South Caucasus.
The State Security Service of Georgia has reported “illegal destructive activities” observed in the occupied territories near the central Georgian village of Mejvriskhevi, adjacent to the administrative boundary line separating the government-controlled territory from the Russian-occupied Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region.