Five years have passed since the brutal murder of Georgian citizen Giga Otkhozoria by Russian-controlled occupation forces in the village of Khurcha, near Georgia’s western Russian-occupied Abkhazia region.
Otkhozoria was trying to transport food into the breakaway Abkhazia region for a funeral ceremony for his late aunt on May 19, 2016, when so-called border guards demanded he pay in exchange for being allowed to transport the goods, which caused a dispute.
Otkhozoria was on Georgian-controlled territory when he was shot six times by so-called border-guard, Rashid Kanjiogli.
Although the offender is known to the public and was sentenced by Zugdidi City Court to 14-years imprisonment, the de facto leadership of Abkhazia region refuses to punish him.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili stated earlier today that the Georgian government is doing its utmost to hold the offender accountable.
Otkhozoria left behind a wife and two children.
Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili awarded the family of Giga Otkhozoria with the Medal for Civil Commitment in January 2019.