Russian-controlled forces illegally detain two Georgian citizens in occupied Gali district

Russian-controlled occupation forces have unlawfully detained two Georgian citizens in the occupied village of Otobaia, located in the Gali district of north-western Georgia, the State Security Service said on Wednesday.

The de facto authorities of the occupied Abkhazia region confirmed the illegal detention through the hotline operated by the European Union Monitoring Mission, the agency noted.

The citizens have been charged with alleged “organisation of illegal migration” and have been unlawfully sentenced to two months of pretrial detention. They are currently being held at the detention centre of the de facto State Security Service of Abkhazia, the SSS said.

The agency added it had informed the co-chairs of the Geneva International Discussions on Georgia’s conflict issues, as well as the country’s foreign partners, over the incident.

All available mechanisms have been activated, and efforts are underway to secure the immediate release of the detained individuals”, it also noted.

The agency further highlighted illegal detentions by occupation forces “not only complicate the daily lives of the local population but also severely “undermined” the security environment.

It added the international community had “repeatedly expressed a unified stance”, condemning the “violent and unlawful actions perpetrated by the occupation regime” against Georgian citizens and criminal practices deliberately established in the occupied territories of the country.