Georgian citizen dead following illegal arrest attempt by occupation forces - Security Service

Release of Georgian citizens illegally detained by Russian occupation forces and developments along the occupation lin

Russian-controlled occupation forces have illegally arrested two Georgian citizens in the occupied territory adjacent to the village of Ghromi in central Georgia’s Gori municipality and the Akhalgori district village of Balaani, the State Security Service of Georgia said on Wednesday.

Russian-controlled occupation forces on Friday illegally arrested a Georgian citizen near the occupied territory adjacent to central Georgia’s village of Odzisi, the State Security Service of Georgia confirmed.

Developments over the past two months along the administrative line separating the Russian-occupied regions of Georgia from the rest of the country were discussed on Tuesday at a meeting of the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism in Ergneti.

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Monday called on the international community to make an “appropriate assessment and response” to the death of a Georgian citizen following an illegal arrest attempt by Russian-controlled occupation forces near a village adjacent to the occupied Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region in central Georgia.

The Georgian Government has on Monday requested a “technical meeting” with the participation of representatives of the Russian occupation forces administering Georgia’s occupied Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region and the European Union Monitoring Mission following the death of a Georgian citizen following an illegal arrest attempt by occupation forces on Monday.

Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili on Monday said she was “profoundly outraged” by the death of a citizen of the country following an attempt of their illegal arrest by Russian-controlled occupation forces near a village adjacent to the occupied Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region in central Georgia.

Irakli Antadze, the Deputy Head of the Analytical Department of the Georgian State Security Service, on Monday said the country’s authorities had demanded “immediate release” of a Georgian citizen illegally detained by occupation forces on Monday, and punishment of individuals responsible for the killing of another national of the country in the same incident, in a meeting with de facto authorities of the occupied Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region.

The European Union Monitoring Mission on Monday expressed its concern and condemned “in the strongest terms the use of force in any form” after a Georgian citizen died following an illegal arrest attempt by occupation forces on Monday.

Shalva Papuashvili, the Georgian Parliament Speaker, on Tuesday noted official documents of the European Union did not use the term “occupation” to describe Russia’s illegal actions in the Abkhazia and Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) regions of Georgia and said it was “important” for the bloc to change the policy over the matter.  

Georgian police are investigating a possible disappearance of a Russian citizen near a village adjacent to the occupied Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region in central Georgia, the Interior Ministry said on Thursday.

A Georgian citizen Levan Dotiashvili illegally detained by the Russian-controlled occupation forces in central Georgia was released on Thursday, following an incident which saw the killing of the country’s national Tamaz Ginturi during an attempt of illegal arrest by occupation forces on Monday.

Levan Dotiashvili, a Georgian citizen who was released on Thursday after being illegally detained by the Russian-controlled occupation forces in central Georgia following an incident that led to the killing of Tamaz Ginturi, another national of the country, on Friday recounted details of the incident.

Irakli Kobakhidze, the head of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Tuesday said his party would not back “any initiative” proposed by Parliamentary opposition groups about the country’s foreign policy and occupation of its territories by Russia. 

Georgian officials, members of domestic civil society groups and international organisations on Tuesday discussed the Russian occupation of two of the country’s regions and related issues at an information meeting hosted by the office of the Georgian State Ministry for Reconciliation and Civil Equality with the support of the United Nations Women organisation. 

Irakli Kobakhidze, the head of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Wednesday said “any talks” on demarcation or delimitation of “borders” between the Government and de facto authorities of the country’s Russian-occupied Abkhazia and Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) regions were “absolutely ruled out”. 

The United States Mission to the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe on Thursday said the killing of Georgian citizen Tamaz Ginturi by Russian-controlled occupation forces earlier this month was a “reminder on how Russia’s continued occupation of Georgia’s territory impacts the people of Georgia”. 

Russian-controlled occupation forces have illegally arrested three Georgian citizens in the occupied territory adjacent to the village of Adzvi in central Georgia’s Gori municipality, the State Security Service of Georgia said on Saturday.

Georgian Deputy Foreign Minister Lasha Darsalia on Tuesday said the 59th round of the Geneva International Discussions - the platform that addresses security and humanitarian consequences of the 2008 Russia-Georgia conflict - would focus on the “aggravation” of the security and humanitarian situation in the country’s Russian-occupied territories.

The 59th round of Geneva International Discussions, the only international format addressing security and humanitarian consequences of the 2008 Russia-Georgia conflict, on Tuesday and Wednesday largely focused on the killing of Georgian citizen Tamaz Ginturi by Russian-controlled occupation forces last month. 

Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Sunday said the killing of a Georgian citizen in the Russian-occupied Gali district of Abkhazia was another “deplorable fact” showing the “severity” of the occupation.