Georgian citizen illegally detained by occupation forces released

A Georgian citizen illegally detained by de facto authorities of central Georgia's Russian-occupied Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region was released on Monday, the State Security Service said.

Aleksi Adeishvili had been arrested adjacent to the village of Akhmaji in the Akhalgori municipality, with the Service saying it had used the hotline designed for information exchange along the occupation line and “all relevant mechanisms at the disposal” of the Government to ensure his release.

His immediate release was also discussed at meetings of the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism, a platform facilitating discussions between the de facto authorities and the Georgian Government, in the village of Ergneti near the occupied region, the body added.

The state body also said the Government and its international partners continued to “work for the release of all illegally detained Georgian citizens” from the de facto authorities’ custody.