Three Russian Citizens Sentenced to Pre-Trial Custody in Tbilisi

A Court in Tbilisi sentenced three Russian citizens to three-month pre-trial custody on June 26. The three men, who are residents of Russia?s North Ossetian Republic, face charges of illegally crossing the Russian-Georgian border.

The Georgian Interior Ministry reported that three people were arrested on June 24 in the Java district in Georgia?s breakaway South Ossetia. Georgian law enforcers alleged that the three men were conducting reconnaissance.

According to the Georgian side, the ethnic Ossetian detainees entered into the breakaway region from neighboring Russia?s North Ossetian Republic.

In a statement issued on June 25 the Russian Foreign Ministry required Georgia to clarify the case of detention of its citizens.