PM Garibashvili on death of four from occupied Gali: Russia will be held accountable for its illegal actions
Georgian Prime Minister Minister Irakli Garibashvili has stated that Russia is responsible for the recent death of four residents of the occupied Gali district of Abkhazia. Photo: AFP.
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Georgian Prime Minister Minister Irakli Garibashvili has responded to the recent death of four individuals from the country’s Russian-occupied Gali district and stated that the ‘occupation regime will definitely be held accountable for all its illegal actions in Georgia.’
Two men and two women drowned in the Enguri River yesterday while trying to cross onto Tbilisi-controlled territory from the Gali district in the Russian-occupied Abkhazia region.
Locals have told journalists that the individuals wanted to buy everyday items and medicines on Tbilisi-controlled territory which are either absent or expensive in Abkhazia.
They also said that the Russian-controlled occupation forces ran after individuals with dogs and the four were forced to enter the river.
I want to offer sincere condolences to the families of the deceased individuals. The individuals have become the victims of the occupation forces who have been violating fundamental rights of our citizens for years. The Russian controlled occupation forces are responsible for such incidents and they will be held accountable for this with the help of our international partners,” Garibashvili said earlier today.
All four bodies were found yesterday in the river of Enguri. Photo: IPN.
The de facto leaderships of Georgia’s two Russian-occupied Abkhazia and Tskhinvali regions frequently close the so-called checkpoints to the rest of Georgia due to different reasons which sparks serious humanitarian difficulties in the regions because the locals can buy everyday items and receive quality medical assistance only on the Tbilisi-controlled territory.
Currently locals are able to leave the Abkhazia region only with a special pass which costs 1,000 roubles (45 GEL, 13 USD).
Locals say that they live in poverty and in some cases are unable to pay for the pass which pushes them to use alternative ways to move to others regions of the country.
They also state that a five-day coronavirus quarantine on the Tbilisi-controlled territory is also problematic for them.
Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili has stated that the Russian-controlled occupation forces are responsible for the death of individuals who drowned in the river of Enguri while trying to cross into Tbilisi-controlled territory from the Russian occupied Gali district of Georgia. The bodies of two 30 and 38-year old women and a 65-year-old man were found earlier today, while the husband of one of the deceased women is still missing.
Rescuers have found a body of a fourth individual who was trying to cross onto territory controlled by the central government of Georgia from Russian-occupied Gali through the Enguri River. The body was found on the banks of the river Enguri, in the village of Orsantia of Zugdidi Municipality.
United States Acting Deputy Chief of Mission to the OSCE Elisabeth Rosenstock-Siller said in her address to the Permanent Council on Thursday that the US condemns the recent sentencing of Georgian citizen Zaza Gakheladze in Russian-occupied Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region.
The International Crisis Group has published a report on the COVID-19 challenges in six ‘post-Soviet breakaway statelets’, including in Georgia’s Russian-occupied regions of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali (South Ossetia).
The United States Embassy in Georgia extends ‘heartfelt condolences’ to the family and friends of the Georgians who died yesterday attempting to cross the Enguri River to get from the Russian-occupied Abkhazia region to the Tbilisi-controlled territory.
Georgian national flags are flying at half-mast today at all government buildings across the country in mourning of four Georgian citizens who died attempting to cross the Enguri River to travel from Russian-occupied Abkhazia region to Tbilisi-controlled territory.
Starting April 19, the residents of Russian-occupied Georgian territories will have to take Covid-19 rapid tests instead of 5-day quarantine, announces the government of Georgia.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has approved a bill proposed by the country’s Foreign Ministry ‘to resolve dual citizenship issues’ with Georgia’s occupied Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region. The agreement, which was signed for a lenght of five years and which will automatically prolong after the expiration of the term, offers simplified procedures for obtaining Russian citizenship and dual citizenship for the residents of Georgia’s occupied Tskhinvali region.
Tbilisi has strongly condemned the opening of about 20 polling stations in Georgia’s Russian-occupied Tskhinvali region for the September 19 Duma elections of Russia, stating that the step is an ‘obvious example’ of annexation. The Georgian Foreign Ministry says that Russia ‘once again violated the international law’ and urged the international community to give a ‘due response’ to the country’s illegal activities in Georgia.
The United States has condemned the opening of polling stations in Georgia’s Russian-occupied Abkhazia and Tskhinvali regions for the September 19 Duma elections of Russia, Spokesperson of the US Department of State Ned Price has tweeted. The Georgian Foreign Ministry has also condemned the move, stating that Russia ‘once again violated the international law’ and urged the international community to give a ‘due response’ to the country’s illegal activities in Georgia.
The de facto foreign intelligence service head in Georgia’s Russian-occupied Tskhinvali region, Aleksey Maksimov, has met with the Taliban co-founder and current vice-PM in the new caretaker government of Afghanistan, Abdul Ghani Baradar, to discuss ‘regional security and the security issues of the two countries,’ the Taliban’s spokesperson Mohammad Naeem has tweeted.