Abkhazia invites Georgia to sign agreements on cooperation in detention and extradition of criminals

The 29th meeting of within the framework of the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism with the participation of representatives of Abkhazia, Georgia, Russia, the EU and the UN was held in the city of Gali. The Abkhazian side has once again raised the issue on kidnapping of Merab Kolbaya, a resident of the Gali district, accused by the Georgian side of involvement in terror acts in Georgia, by the Georgian special services.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of Abkhazia, now Merab Kolbaya is kept in Tbilisi's prison. The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was told by the MFA of Abkhazia the Abkhazian side reminded that more than once it appealed to the representatives of Georgia to sign the relevant agreements on cooperation in the detention and extradition of criminals. The Abkhazian side noted that in case of establishment of such agreements on both sides the process of cooperation in this sphere would be more effective.

The Abkhazian delegation once again drew the attention of the participants that the residents of Abkhazia, who pass the Abkhazian-Georgian border, constantly underwent interrogations from the Georgian border guards.

Moreover, people are oppressed and threatened. The Abkhazian side expressed its concern on this issue and noted that this practice would not contribute to the establishment of confidence between the parties.

Tbilisi included to the agenda of the meeting the issues on the movement of people across the administrative border with Abkhazia, the human rights in the territory of Abkhazia and the persecution of people along their ethnic characteristics in the region. Besides, the issues on the crime situation in the conflict zone and on the extradition of suspects of organizing terror acts to the power agencies of Georgia were included to the agenda.