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Georgian citizen detained at administrative border

By Gvantsa Gabekhadze
Wednesday, December 31
A Georgian citizen was detained by de-facto Abkhazia’s law enforcement agency representatives on December 28.

According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA), resident of Samegrelo region Paata Todua was detained at Abkhazia’s administrative border.

MIA states that Todua was an employee of the ministry.

"Todua is an internally displaced person from Abkhazia and works as a driver at the ministry. His father still lives in Ochamchire, a city in Abkhazia, and he had expected to visit him and give him New Year gifts,” said Shalva Enukidze, the Head of the Analytical Department at the Interior Ministry.

The Interior Ministry said that Abkhaz officials confirmed that the man was detained for illegally crossing the border.

The European Union Monitoring Mission (EUMM) in Georgia has already been informed about the case. A hotline is also operating.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs does not yet have information about his whereabouts and the expected date of release.

A couple of days ago, Abkhaz officials also detained two Georgians at the administrative border in South Ossetia. One of them has already been released.