Prepared by Messenger Staff
Tskhinvali De Facto Leader Resigns, Joins Putin's Advisory Team
Alan Gagloev has stepped down as the leader of occupied Tskhinvali/South Ossetia and been appointed adviser to Russian President Vladimir Putin, a move that follows the signing of a so-called Treaty on Deepening Allied Cooperation between Moscow and Tskhinvali that Georgia regards as a step toward the region's formal annexation.
Gagloev, who has held the de facto "president" post since 2022, announced his resignation on June 23. Putin has already signed a decree formalizing his appointment as adviser.
In his resignation address, Gagloev invoked the May 9 treaty, saying it would help the region reunite with Russia. "Today, our task is to ensure that our cherished dream comes true - to overcome the fate of a divided people and reunite with North Ossetia, to reunite with Great Russia," he said.
Gagloev said he had met with Putin the day before his resignation and received the offer directly. "I supported our historical leader Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin and am ready to stand by his side," he said.
His departure comes a week after Marat Kambolov, a longtime official in Russian federal government structures, was appointed de facto prime minister of Tskhinvali following the resignation of Dzambalat Tadtayev, also in the wake of the May 9 treaty. Kambolov is now set to assume the temporary duties of acting "president."
Strasbourg Court Rules Georgia Violated Rights of Man Arrested Over Solo Protest
The European Court of Human Rights ruled on June 23 that Georgia violated the rights of Zurab Karchava, who was arrested in 2022 after police stopped him from setting up a tent for a solo demonstration in Batumi.
The Court unanimously found in Karchava v. Georgia that Georgia had breached Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights on freedom of expression, read alongside Article 11 on freedom of assembly, and ordered the state to pay Karchava EUR 1,000 in compensation.
Karchava had planned to pitch a tent near a statue of Memed Abashidze in a public square close to the Constitutional Court and the seat of local government, and to go on hunger strike to protest the lack of free school lunches in Georgia.
On the day of the planned protest, police urged him to relocate, saying the area had been set aside for New Year's Eve celebrations that might involve pyrotechnics. When he refused, he was arrested around midday for disobeying lawful police orders, an administrative offence, and was later convicted and given a verbal reprimand.
Karchava was represented before the Strasbourg court by the Georgian Young Lawyers' Association.
