Illegally Detained Georgian Citizen Released From Tskhinvali Prison
By Khatia Bzhalava
Wednesday, December 22
Gela Gochoshvili, a citizen of Georgia illegally detained by the occupation regime for ‘crossing the border’ on August 14, has been released, the State Security Service (SSG) reported on Sunday.
As Gochoshvili told journalists, he was visiting his uncle in the Russian-occupied Tskhinvali region to bring him medicine and was arrested while he was on his way back to Tbilisi-controlled territory. He was initially transferred to a Russian military base and later to a temporary detention center in occupied Tskhinvali. As Gochoshvili noted, he had 3 packs of cigarettes with him and the occupying forces accused him of smuggling. The de-facto court initially sentenced him to one-year improvement, however, the sentence was reduced to six months after appealing the decision. Finally, as a result of measures taken by the Georgian government, Gochoshvili was released in four months. He reported that he was not subjected to psychological or physical pressure during his detention.
According to the SSG, the issue of immediate release of a Georgian citizen from illegal detention was regularly raised by the Georgian central government at the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism (IPRM) and the Geneva International Discussions.
“illegal detention of Georgian citizens by the Russian occupation forces violates fundamental human rights and damages the security environment on the ground,” the SSG noted in the statement.
Unlawful detentions of Georgian citizens near the occupation line is a common issue. Currently, three other Georgian citizens remain in custody. According to the SSG, the central government of Georgia is actively using all the mechanisms at its disposal to release other illegally detained Georgian citizens. SSG holds the Russian Federation fully responsible for the destructive actions carried out on the occupation line and in the occupied territories.
