Georgian Defence Minister pays tribute to national 2008 war hero on 40th birthday

  Georgian Defence Minister Irakli Chikovani on Sunday paid tribute to the memory of the national hero Giorgi Antsukhelidze, who had sacrificed his life in the Russian-Georgian war of 2008, on his 40th birthday.

“August 18 is the birthday of Giorgi Antsukhelidze. We bow before the outstanding and unbroken hero of the contemporary history of our country. The freedom and independence of our country rest on Giorgi Antsukhelidze and the brave soldiers and heroes like him”, Chikovani said.

The Minister stressed that the hero servicemember became an example of devotion to the motherland, spiritual strength and patriotism for future generations.

“In the war of August 2008, Giorgi Antsukhelidze defended the state flag of Georgia and the honour of the country at the expense of his life”, Chikovani pointed out.

The Defence Ministry on Sunday unveiled a memorial of Giorgi Antsukhelidze in the Abano Pass in the country’s northeast highland region of Tusheti, in memory of the 23-year-old Junior Sergeant who had entered the conflict as an assistant gunner in the 41st Battalion of the 4th Infantry Brigade.

The opening event of the memorial was attended by Irakli Chichinadze, the Deputy Commander of the Defence Forces and Brigadier General, Giorgi Gogochuri, the Chief Sergeant of the Defense Forces, the family members of the national hero and other representatives of the Defence Forces, the Ministry said.

Antsukhelidze was captured in the 2008 Russia-Georgia war before being tortured and killed by Russian forces and troops of the de facto authorities of central Georgia’s occupied Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region.

Footage of his torture, recorded on the phone of one of his captors, was shared on the Internet in January 2009, months after the conflict had ended, and showed Antsukhelidze being interrogated and then tortured, after refusing to comply with humiliating orders.

Antsukhelidze was considered missing until November 2008, when his identification was confirmed by genetic examination of the bodies of soldiers transferred to the Georgian side. He was buried at the Mukhatgverdi Fraternal Cemetery near Tbilisi. 

In 2013, he was posthumously awarded the title of National Hero by the Georgian Government for his services.

The war between Russia and Georgia took the lives of 169 servicemembers and professionals of the Defence Ministry, along with 19 employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and 224 civilians. 

Around 30,000 citizens of Georgia were forced to abandon their homes in the now-occupied Tskhinvali region.