European parliamentarian finds missing South-Ossetian young men

European MP from Italy Julietto Chieza has managed to establish the whereabouts of the missing young men from South Ossetia, who had been taken in captivity by Georgian militaries and whose fate remained unknown.

Julietto Chieza received the list of 11 surnames of missing Ossetians during his recent visit to South Ossetia on October 25 and promised to hold investigation.

The "Rosbalt" Agency quotes Mr Chieza's words who said on November 14: "By all means, it is necessary to control the actions of international observers in the buffer zones. They are in charge of what happens there. The traceless disappearance of Ossetians shall not stay unpunished either for Georgia or for international observers."

To find out what has occurred with the young men, the MP sent a respective inquiry to Franco Frattini, Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs, who replied that "according to the information of Tbilisi authorities these Ossetians are imprisoned, where they are still kept pending trial." What they are accused of is still unknown, the RIA "Novosti" reports.

Ms Gaya Sinona, who is Chieza's assistant, said that the MP has asked the representative office of the International Red Cross Committee to find the whereabouts and visit the young men from South Ossetia kept in Georgian prison.