Georgians Arrested in Belarus

Belarus security service detained three Georgian citizens – an Orthodox priest Basil Kobakhidze, Malkhaz Songulashvili, head of the Georgian Baptist-Evangelist Church and Lado Gogiashvili, Georgian Deputy Foreign Minister Merab Antadze said on March 21.

Three citizens of Georgia were arrested in Minsk at the protest rally held by the Belarus opposition on March 20.

“The only reason of their arrest was the fact that they held Georgian flags and had Georgian passports,” Merab Antadze said and demanded an immediate release of the Georgian citizens.

In a statement issued on March 21 the Georgian Parliamentary Committee for Foreign Affairs condemned arrest of Georgians and described it as an expression of “anti-Georgian stance” of the Belarus authorities.

A Religious Council of the Georgian Public Defender’s Office also condemned the arrest of Georgian citizens.