23:55, 17 June 2021

Georgian citizen released from imprisonment in South Ossetia

The demarcation line between Georgia and South Ossetia. Photo by the press service for the KGB of South Ossetia https://www.facebook.com/komitetgosbezopasnosti.southossetia/photos/a.465734606932231/465737340265291/?type=3&theater

Lasha Khereteli was handed over to the Georgian side after serving a year in a Tskhinvali prison in a border violation case.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that in March, the Georgian authorities reported about four citizens of the country who were serving their sentences in Tskhinvali for crossing the demarcation line. Gennady Bestaev was sentenced to three years of imprisonment, Lasha Khereteli – to one year, Ramaz Begeluri – to three months, and Zaza Gakheladze – to 12 years and six months of imprisonment. On June 15, in the Georgian village of Ergneti located on the border with South Ossetia, relatives of Zaza Gakheladze threatened the authorities with holding protests if no efforts were made to return him.

The restrictions on crossing the Georgian border with South Ossetia violate the rights of residents of border villages who cannot run their household and risk being detained, the human rights organization “Amnesty International” (AI) states in its report.

Earlier, Lasha Khereteli, a 23-year-old resident of the Shaumyan village in the Marneuli District of Georgia, has been detained at the border more than once and expelled to Georgia, the press service for the KGB of South Ossetia reported on Facebook.

The Georgian State Security Service called the detention of the Georgian citizen unlawful.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on June 17, 2021 at 04:12 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.

Source: CK correspondent