Occupants detain Georgian national
By Gvantsa Gabekhadze
Thursday, March 2
People of Georgia’s eastern occupied South Ossetia (Tskhinvali) region and Russian occupant forces illegally detained a citizen of Georgia, Kakhaber Kisishvili, for the “illegal crossing of border” on February 28.
The man is from the village of Plavi in the Gori municipality, near the occupation line.
The mother of the detainee says her son was with a relative in the village of Otrevi, which is now controlled by occupant forces.
Kisishvili has already been taken to Tskhinvali's pre-trial detention facility.
The occupants have contacted the family of the detainee, demanded a payment of 2,000 Russian rubles as a ransom.
The mother of the detainee says the family does not have the money to pay, as they are socially vulnerable.
“I was told that my son has a brain concussion. Allegedly he was beaten in the detention process. My son also has epilepsy. I think his health condition will worsen further in prison,” Maro Kisishvili said.
Georgia’s State Security Service and the European Union Monitoring Mission were informed about the situation.
Russia recognized the independence of Georgia’s two breakaway regions of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali in the wake of the Russia-Georgia August 2008 war, and the territories are still controlled by occupant Russian forces.
Since the war, more than 965 people have been illegally detained for 'illegally crossing' the so-called border between Georgia and Tskhinvali.
The total amount of fines (ransom) the detained people had to pay for release exceeds 65,000 GEL.
