Gov’t “doing its utmost” to free Georgian man convicted for burning de facto Abkhaz flag - ruling party head
In his comments to the media, Kobakhidze said the case was “very complicated” and stressed the Government was “fully involved” in the process of resolving the matter, an objective he said was “challenging” to achieve. Photo: Georgian Dream press office
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Irakli Kobakhidze, the Chair of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Tuesday said the country’s Government was “doing its utmost” to free Irakli Bebua, an ethnic Georgian who was illegally sentenced to nine years in prison in 2020 by the de facto authorities of north-western Georgia’s Russian-occupied Abkhazia region for burning the flag of the de facto region.
In his comments to the media, Kobakhidze said the case was “very complicated” and stressed the Government was “fully involved” in the process of resolving the matter, an objective he said was “challenging” to achieve.
Bebua, a local of the Gali district of the region, was detained illegally in late September 2020 after burning the flag of the de facto region, with the de facto authorities later saying they had also found a hand grenade in his house and convicted him of possession of firearms.
The former incident saw the Gali local set the flag on fire while the region was celebrating its “Victory Day” and “Day of Independence”, marking the outcome of the war in the region in the 1990s, on September 30.
He stated in a video released later that he had burned the flag to signal his wish of seeing Georgian and Abkhaz communities “live together and be friendly like before”.
Russia's military aggression against Ukraine, its impact on global and regional security, and the challenges Georgia faces in the context were discussed on Thursday in a meeting between Tea Akhvlediani, the Georgian State Minister for Reconciliation and Civic Equality, and the Co-Chairs of the Geneva International Talks.
The situation created by the armed conflict taking place in Ukraine, the ongoing occupation of Georgian regions, and release of Georgian citizens illegally arrested by occupation forces were discussed on Tuesday in a meeting between Grigol Liluashvili, the Head of the State Security Service (SSS) of Georgia, and Toivo Klaar, the European Union Special Representative for the South Caucasus and the Crisis in Georgia.
Irakli Bebua, an ethnic Georgian man living in the Gali district of Georgia’s Russian-occupied Abkhazia region, has been sentenced to nine years in prison for burning the flag of Abkhazia and the possession of firearms.
Irakli Bebua, a young ethnic Georgian man from the Gali district of Russia-occupied Abkhazia, has been detained after setting an Abkhaz flag on fire, while the region was celebrating the day of victory and independence on September 30.