Russians Lead the List of Violators of Georgia’s Occupation Law
By Gvantsa Gabekhadze
Tuesday, July 24
Russian citizens are at the top of the list, which includes the people who had violated Georgia’s Occupation Law and entered the occupied regions of Georgia-Abkhazia and Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) without requesting any permission from Tbilisi.
Statistics released by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia show that between 2015 and 2017, criminal prosecution was launched against 46 individuals, 18 Russians among them, who illegally entered the Georgian occupied territories.
Georgia adopted the Law on Occupied Territories following the 2008 war with Russia, imposing various restrictions for those visiting the country’s occupied territories of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) without permission from the government of Georgia.
The War in Abkhazia from 1992 to 1993 was fought between Georgian government forces for the most part, and Abkhaz separatist forces, Russian armed forces and North Caucasian militants. The separatists received support from thousands of North Caucasus and Cossack militants and from the Russian forces stationed in and near Abkhazia.
About 13,000 to 20,000 ethnic Georgians and approximately 3,000 Abkhaz have been reported killed, more than 250,000 Georgians became internally displaced or refugees and about 2,000 are considered missing.
Among the missing about 1,500 are ethnic Georgians, up to 200 are ethnic Abkhazians and about 100 are ethnic Ossetians.
101 bodies have been identified and transported to Georgia over the course of last years.
The Russia- Georgia 2008 war displaced 192,000 people and while many returned to their homes, 20,272 people, mostly ethnic Georgians, remain displaced.
35 Georgians and 6 Ossetians are missing.
