Ousted de-facto gov’t and mass protests - What’s happening in Tskhinvali?

By Natalia Kochiashvili

Thursday, September 3

The so-called Opposition lawmakers say they will not continue working in the de facto parliament until the so-called interior minister and prosecutor general is held accountable.

Protest rallies in the so-called occupied Tskhinvali were followed by the resignation of the government.

Hundreds of protesters, including Jabiev’s relatives and representatives of so-called opposition parties, have been hitting the streets of Tskhinvali center, demanding the resignation of Kremlin-backed leader Anatoly Bibilov and the occupied region’s ‘prosecutor general’ Uruzmag Jagaev over the death of 28-year-old inmate Inal Jabiev.

Protests erupted following reports about Jabiev’s death on the 28th of August, after his hospitalization from the detention facility, where the inmate had been allegedly subjected to severe beatings. The young man was detained on attempted murder of the occupied region’s then ‘interior minister’ Igor Naniev. Jabiev’s relatives say that he was tortured in the Tskhinvali police station for two days, which caused his death. The situation in the Tskhinvali region escalated after the photos of Dzhabiev’s body were published on social media. The photos showed that the deceased young man had injuries on his body.

Anatoly Bibilov, Moscow-backed leader of the Tskhinvali region first responded to the protests by firing Naniev, and the entire ‘government’ following late on August 28th. Bibilov’s decision was preceded by a resignation notice of Erik Pukhaev, ‘prime minister’ of the Kremlin-backed region. Bibilov said that the lack of professionalism of law enforcers caused the tragic death of the 30-year-old man.

RES media agency reported that Tskinvali’s prosecution bodies have detained 7 suspects in relation to Jabiev’s death, they all happen to be staff members of the ‘interior ministry.’

No official charges have been yet brought as investigations are still underway and forensic medical examination has been scheduled.

The so-called Tskhinvali Ombudsman Inal Tasoev says Nikolai Tskhovrebov, who was detained along with Inal Jabiev, was also beaten. According to Tasoev, he is in the hospital and told the ‘ombudsman’ about the methods of torture against him in the pre-trial detention. According to the publication ‘Kavkazsky Uzel’, another detainee, Gennady Kulaev, was reportedly beaten.

Ex-leader Eduard Kokoity, Russian-backed Tskhinvali leader in 2001-2011, posted a video address on his Instagram profile, calling Bibilov to immediately resign. Kokoity said Bibilov had “declared war against his own people” and threatened his return to Tskhinvali/South Ossetia if his demands were not met.

Note that according to the media ‘Caucasus Real’ the former so-called President Kokoity was not allowed in the occupied region, on the basis of ‘restricted border control due to coronavirus.’

Jagaev has announced the conditions upon which he will resign following protests sparked by the death of resident Jabiev while in police custody. Jagaev says he will resign if the so-called MPs who led the protest rallies in the region following the death of the 28-year-old also resign since according to him, opposition MPs use "the tragic death of Inal Jabiev for their self-interests and put pressure on law enforcement agencies to paralyze their legal activities."

The Office of the State Minister for Reconciliation and Civic Equality responded to the death of Jabiev in occupied Tskhinvali.

The statement states that the death of the prisoner once again confirms the difficult security and humanitarian situation of the population of South Ossetia, expressing deep concern over the violation of the right to life, gross violations of fundamental human rights, and recent alarming developments.

The Ministry called on international partners to continue to put pressure on the occupation regime to end human rights abuses in the occupied territories.

Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili has also called on the international community to ‘strongly react’ to the ‘grave situation’ in the Russia-occupied region of Tskhinvali.

Zurabishvili asked the heads of the United Nations and the European Union as well as co-chairs of the Geneva International Discussions to use all of their levers to avoid escalations in Tskhinvali as well as to ensure public safety on the ground.