Tbilisi Confirms Release of Two S.Ossetians

The Georgian Interior Ministry has confirmed that it released two residents of breakaway South Ossetia, while two others remain detained.

The South Ossetian side said that the two men were released as a result of negotiations mediated by the OSCE mission and Russian peacekeepers. It also said that four men were arrested after the South Ossetian side detained a Georgian man suspected of murder on July 20. It has also claimed that the Georgian side is insisting on an exchange of detainees.

The Georgian Interior Ministry, however, has strongly denied having any talks on a swap, insisting instead that the arrest of the South Ossetians was not at all linked with the detention of the Georgian man. Initially, Georgian police said that the four men were arrested for illegal possession of arms and drugs.

But on July 22, Shota Utiashvili, an Interior Ministry spokesman, told Civil.Ge that “two persons were released as criminal charges have not been proven.”

“If the charges against the other two Ossetians are not proven, we will release them too,” he added.