12:05, 4 March 2008

President of Abkhazia receives journalists who demand to release Basilaya

On March 3, President of Abkhazia Sergey Bagapsh received a group of Abkhazian journalists who had addressed him with a demand to release the Georgian journalists detained by the employees of the Republic's State Security Service on February 26.

The journalists have acquainted the President the appeal of 16 Georgian mass media to Abkhazian journalists, in which they ask to help in releasing Malkhaz Basilaya, regional correspondent of the Georgian TV Company "Mze".

Having listened to the journalists, the President of Abkhazia said: "Should the investigation establish that the detainees have accomplished no other offences, except for illegal crossing the frontier of Abkhazia, the problem of their release can be solved positively."

Author: Anzhela Kuchuberiya, CK correspondent