Tskhinvali Hands over Corpses of Four Men

The South Ossetian side handed over the corpses of four men who were abducted in the conflict zone in early June to their relatives, the South Ossetian Press and Information Committee reported on December 15.

News broke recently that all four Georgians had been killed and that a ransom of 100,000 USD was demanded for the hand over of their corpses to relatives.

Georgian officials have already hinted that these four Georgian men could be the victims of revenge carried out by relatives of four Ossetians who were killed by Georgian police in the conflict zone on May 29.

South Ossetian leader Eduard Kokoity said on December 14 while meeting with Georgian journalists in Tskhinvali that ?several suspects have been detained and an investigation over the abduction is coming to an end.?

?This abduction was masterminded by those forces who do not want that Georgians and Ossetians come to an understanding … This is a criminal group including both Georgians and Ossetians,? Kokoity said.