Georgian man detained near occupied Tskhinvali
The European Union Monitoring mission (EUMM) has been informed and the hotline – activated to resolve the issue. Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge
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A 28-year-old Georgian citizen, Zakaria Butkhuzi, has been allegedly detained for “illegally crossing the border” near the Russian-occupied region of Tskhinvali (South Ossetia).
Butkhuzi has been detained near the village of Kveshi in Gori Municipality, close to the occupation line. His father said the young man was in their plot of land, when he disappeared.
The State Security Service of Georgia said the European Union Monitoring Mission (EUMM) has been informed and the hotline – activated to resolve the issue.
The illegal detention of Georgian citizens by Russian occupation forces near the occupation line is a common issue. Detainees are usually released after their family pays fine.
The occupying forces in the two Russia-controlled Georgian regions of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) have detained 327 Georgian citizens for “illegally crossing the border” between 2017 and 2019, the Georgian State Security Service says. The agency reports that 242 of 327 were detained for “illegally crossing the border” between Georgia and its eastern occupied Tskhinvali region.
Co-chairs of the Geneva International Discussions call for “the immediate re-opening of all crossing points” on the administrative boundary line with the Russian-occupied Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region.
De facto authorities of Georgia’s Russian-controlled Tskhinvali region say that the European Union Monitoring Mission (EUMM) monitors were held yesterday as they “illegally crossed the border in the village of Tsnelisi (Kareli Municipality, under the Russian control),” adding that the action by the EUMM was “provocative.”
The de facto leadership of Georgia’s Russian occupied region of Abkhazia announced a temporary restriction on crossing the so-called border between the region and the rest of the country amid the recent protest rallies throughout Georgia.
A 28-year-old Georgian citizen, Zakaria Butkhuzi, who was detained by occupation forces earlier this week, has been released, the Georgian State Security Service reports.Butkhuzi was illegally detained by occupation forces near Georgia’s Russian-occupied Tskhinvali region “for illegally crossing the border.”
The ‘Supreme Court’ in Georgia’s Russian occupied Tskhinvali region has sentenced former head of so-called presidential administration of Tskhinvali Sergey Lipin to 16 years in prison for treason, while his wife Nanuli Chulukhadze, an ethnic Georgian, has been sentenced to 13 years in prison.