Controversy surrounding Tskhinvali
By Anastasia Sokhadze
Friday, May 22
Jumber Miladze, a 63-year-old patient from Akhalgori who was being transported from occupied Tskhinvali to the territory controlled by Tbilisi with the help of the Red Cross on May 19th, died from a stroke on the way to the Karaleti area before arriving to the hospital.
“It is very unfortunate and, first of all, I express my deepest condolences to the family members of Jumber Miladze,” said Ketevan Tsikhelashvili.
Accordingly, for several days now, the patient’s family had been trying to evacuate him from the Tskhinvali hospital but in vain. Unfortunately, Jumber Melidze is another victim of the inhuman and illegal restrictions forced onto the population in the conditions of isolation in the Tskhinvali region.
The De facto Security Committee wrote that a few days ago an unauthorised appearance of a car of the Georgian private medical clinic, was recorded on the South Ossetian-Georgian border, accusing the Georgian side and the Lugar Laboratory of trying to obtain biological material from the South Ossetians, with the EU Monitoring Mission assisting this.
“Part of the obligation to take care of our employees is to accompany the staff of the EU Monitoring Mission so that, if necessary, they can quickly provide the necessary assistance, for example, in the event of a car accident. This is especially important in remote areas where emergency medical care is difficult,” the mission said in a press release issued on May 21st.
The EU Monitoring Mission also notes that there have been no secret movements, no contacts have been made with any citizens, no samples have been collected and no such intention exists either.
Occupied Tskhinvali closed all checkpoints connecting the rest of Georgia on February 27th to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the region after Tbilisi revealed the first case of the virus in the country the day before.
