EU Monitoring Mission releases statement on returning Tatunashvili’s body to his family

Archil Tatunashvili's body was handed over to the representatives of the government of Georgia last night. Photo from RFERL
Agenda.ge, 21 Mar 2018 - 12:18, Tbilisi,Georgia

The European Union Monitoring Mission (EUMM) has released a statement over the release of Georgian citizen Archil Tatunashvili’s body from the occupied region of Tskhinvali.

Welcoming the fact that the body of Tatunashvili has finally been released to his family, the EUMM said the mission has been facilitating dialogue over the EUMM-managed hotline on this tragic case during the past weeks.

The EUMM, in its monitoring capacity and in line with its mandate, follows developments closely. The EUMM reaffirms its readiness to support ongoing investigations and to facilitate discussions through the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism (IPRM) and the hotline", the statement reads.

EUMM further called for a swift agreement between participants on the resumption of the IPRM meetings in Ergneti, which are co-facilitated by the EUMM and the OSCE.

The IPRM was created in February 2009 following the 2008 Russia-Georgia conflict to address security concerns and ensure the protection of human rights in the occupied regions.

The body of the 35-year-old Georgian soldier Archil Tatunashvili, who died in unclear circumstances in the occupied Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region on February 23, was handed over to the representatives of the government of Georgia last night, 26 days after his death.