IPRM meeting discusses ‘borderisation’, developments along occupation line

The latest meeting of the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism, a platform for discussions between Georgian Government officials and de facto authorities in the Russian-occupied Tskhinvali region of central Georgia, on Friday discussed the process of illegal ‘borderisation’ and unlawful detention of Georgian citizens along the occupation line.

Hosted in the central Georgian village of Ergneti, the meeting discussed “all significant incidents” that have taken place in or adjacent to the occupied region since the previous meeting, the State Security Service of the country said on Friday.

Irakli Antadze, the Deputy Head of the Information and Analytical Department of the Service, said the “main focus” of the meeting was on the release of Georgian citizens illegally detained along the occupation line by the de facto regime in occupied Tskhinvali.

He noted “some information” was shared regarding the cases of Georgian citizens Iason Gengiuri and Sergo Merebashvili, who were sentenced to 2.6 years in prison for illegal border crossing and damage to illegally constructed infrastructure, after their unlawful detention by the de facto regime in occupied Tskhinvali in September last year.

The Deputy Head added the meeting also discussed illegal ‘borderisation’, highlighting the “destructive impact of these actions” and pointing out “specific locations of concern”.

Antadze also addressed the case of Tamaz Ginturi, a Georgian national who was murdered by Russian occupying forces near a village adjacent to central Georgia’s occupied Tskhinvali in 2023.

The official said the position on the case remained “unchanged”, and added “enforcement of justice” represented “priority both for Ginturi and all Georgian citizens who have been killed along the occupation line or in occupied territories”.

The next IPRM meeting is scheduled to be convened on April 3.