Georgia: Giorgi Doriashvili, a Georgian citizen who was illegally detained by the Russian occupation forces in the breakaway region of South Ossetia, has been freed and returned to the territory controlled by the central government of Georgia.
Giorgi Doriashvili is in the territory controlled by the central government.
Doriashvili was captured on November 29, 2023, when he was collecting firewood near the administrative boundary line (ABL) that separates the occupied region from the rest of Georgia.
He was accused of violating the border regime and was sentenced to two months of imprisonment by a de facto court in Tskhinvali, the capital of South Ossetia.
The release of Doriashvili was facilitated by the “hotline” mechanism, which operates with the direct involvement of the European Union Monitoring Mission (EUMM) in Georgia and by the use of all relevant tools in the hands of the central government.
The Georgian authorities constantly provided information to the international partners and raised the issue within the framework of the Geneva International Discussions and the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism (IPRM).
The occupation forces are responsible for all the destructive actions carried out in the occupied regions of Georgia and along the occupation line.
The Georgian Foreign Ministry issued a statement condemning the illegal detention and imprisonment of Doriashvili and holding the occupation forces responsible for all the destructive actions carried out in the occupied regions of Georgia and along the ABL.
The statement also reiterated the demand for the immediate and unconditional release of all Georgian citizens who are still held in captivity by the Russian-backed separatist regimes in South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
The central government, together with the international partners, continues to work actively to achieve the de-occupation of the Georgian territories and to ensure the human rights and security of the people living in the conflict-affected areas.
