Three citizens of Georgia pardoned in South Ossetia

President of South Ossetia Leonid Tibilov has signed a pardon of three Georgian citizens who had been kept in Tskhinvali prison. Shota Makharashvili, Georgy Mairamidze and Otar Djovakhi were set free.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Makharashvili and Djovakhi were detained in July 2011 by employees of the Tskhinvali Interior Division on charges of trespassing the border of South Ossetia. The time and circumstances of detention of Mairamidze were not reported until recently.

Shota Makharashvili, Georgy Mairamidze and Otar Djovakhi have been transferred to the Georgian party. In response to this action, the South-Ossetian authorities hope to receive a list of their compatriots imprisoned in Georgia, who can be sent to the homeland.

According to Murat Djioev, the South-Ossetian president's envoy for post-conflict settlement, today Georgian prisons keep more than 20 citizens of South Ossetia.

"At the next meeting within the MPRI (Mechanism for Prevention and Reaction to Incidents) to be held on July 26, the Georgian party will give us a list of those persons whom they can release," Murat Djioev told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

The above transfer took place near the Georgian village of Ergneti, the "Echo of the Caucasus" reports.