Georgian citizen released from prison in South Ossetia

South Ossetian security forces handed over Tengiz Korashvili to Georgia, who served time for illegally crossing the border.

As "Kavkazsky Uzel" wrote, on June 7, the Georgian public defender published a report on the situation in Abkhazia and South Ossetia. According to the ombudsman, in 2024, 70 people were detained on the demarcation line , of which 36 were on the border with South Ossetia, 34 on the border with Abkhazia, including two women and two minors. As a rule, those detained are charged with illegally crossing the state border. By the end of 2024, at least 14 people were in prison in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, who, according to the Ombudsman's Office, reported harsh conditions of detention.

The authorities of South Ossetia have handed over to Georgia Tengiz Korashvili, who served a sentence for illegally crossing the state border, the State Security Committee of South Ossetia reported. A 36-year-old resident of the city of Kaspi, Kaspi Municipality, Tengiz Korashvili was detained by border guards on August 19, 2025, in the village of Amdzarin, Leningor District. According to South Ossetian security forces, he intentionally crossed the state border of the Republic of South Ossetia with Georgia while intoxicated. Korashvili was found guilty of illegally crossing the border by the Leningor District Court and sentenced to imprisonment. On September 10, 2025, due to the expiration of his sentence, Korashvili was released and transferred to the Georgian side in accordance with the established procedure, the committee reported.

Georgia considers Abkhazia and South Ossetia to be territories occupied by Russia after Russia intervened in the armed conflict between Georgia and South Ossetia on August 8, 2008, and then recognized the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. After that, the Georgian parliament voted to sever diplomatic relations with Russia, according to the "Caucasian Knot" report on the "Five-Day War".

In 2018, the Georgian Ministry of Justice filed a complaint with the ECHR "Georgia v. Russian Federation", which concerns the oppression of ethnic Georgians in the territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, violations of the rights of residents of border villages and borderization. On April 9, 2024, the ECHR ruled that the Russian authorities violated the rights of Georgian citizens by establishing a demarcation line. The ECHR decision has political significance, but its practical implementation is only possible in the distant future, Georgian analysts said.