Tbilisi demands release of illegally detained citizens at meeting with de facto Tskhinvali ‘officials’

The central Georgian government has demanded the release of illegally detained and convicted Georgian citizens at the Ergneti Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism (IPRM) meeting earlier today. 

IPRM meetings with the representatives of Georgia’s Russian-occupied Tskhinvali region have resumed today after a five-month pause. 

The central Georgian government representatives said that the de facto government is ready to continue consultations on the cases of illegally detained individuals. 

They said that ‘we are unable now to name the date when the individuals will be released.’ 

The representatives of the de facto government have once again demanded the closure of the Chorchana-Tsnelisi police post. 

They continue to say that the post, which is on the Tbilisi-controlled territory, poses threats to 'South Ossetia’s (Tskhinvali) security.’ 

The following IPRM meeting was scheduled on April 23. 

Genadi Bestaev, a Georgian citizen who was illegally detained by the Russian occupation forces in November 2019 for 'illegally crossing the border and possession of drugs', was sentenced to three years in prison by the so-called Tskhinvali court on March 2, 2021.

Another Georgian citizen Zaza Gakheladze, who was shot and illegally detained by Russian-controlled occupation forces in the summer of 2020, was sentenced to 12 years and six months in prison by the de facto Supreme Court of the Russian-occupied Tskhinvali region in February 2021.