EU mission visits Merab Kolbaya in Georgian prison

On October 26, the 31st five-party meeting on preventing and responding to incidents, which was held in Gali, discussed again fate of Merab Kolbaya and Timur Khasaya, residents of Abkhazia, kept in Georgian prisons.

The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was reported by Lana Agrba, the member of the Abkhazian delegation, the head of the International Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), the Abkhazian side had repeatedly appealed to the EU Monitoring Mission (EUMM) asking to visit the Abkhazian citizen Merab Kolbaya, kept in Georgian prison, who had been detained by Georgian secret services. The representatives of Abkhazia emphasized this fact at the five-party meeting and at also in the Geneva talks.

"The EUMM's representatives reported that they had complied with our request and on October 20 visited Merab Kolbaya in Gldani prison in Tbilisi. According to Andrzej Tyszkiewicz, the head of the EU Mission, the appeal period in the case against Merab Kolbaya was extended till October 27, and due to this fact now they could not provide detailed information. However, the head of the EUMM emphasized that Merab Kolbaya was in good physical and mental condition and expressed no complaints about prison conditions. Besides, representatives of the ICRC (International Committee of the Red Cross) regularly visit Merab Kolbaya in prison," stated Lana Agrba.

In the course of the today's meeting, the Abkhazian side has once again put forward the initiative to sign a bilateral agreement on cooperation in arrest and extradition of criminals and added that Abkhazia "several times unilaterally, without preconditions, extradited criminals who had committed law violations in Georgia and had been detained in the territory of Abkhazia, to the Georgian side". The Abkhazian side has emphasized that "the acts of good will could not be unilateral".

The Abkhazian delegation appealed to the EUMM requesting access to Timur Khasaya and claimed that it would not remove the issue from the agenda of meetings on preventing and responding to incidents.

In the course of the meeting, the sides also discussed technical problems in the functioning hot line connection and suggested ways to improve its performance. In general, according to Lana Agrba, the meeting was of working, constructive character. The next meeting is appointed for November 30.