Tbilisi Says 14 Georgians Held in Tskhinvali

Georgia said on December 15 that fourteen of its citizens remain in illegal detention in breakaway South Ossetia.

All of them are held “by the Russian occupation forces and the Tskhinvali proxy regime” since the last year’s August war, the Georgian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Among them are three teenagers – two detained in early November and one in July, 2009.

“International community and especially the EU Monitoring Mission and the Council of Europe’s High Commissioner on Human Rights [Thomas Hammarberg] should strengthen their efforts to achieve the release of the three youngsters, who are being detained in complete violation of international law,” the Georgian Foreign Ministry said.

The authorities in breakaway region say that total of 16 Georgian citizens are held in Tskhinvali prison, including those who, according to Tskhinvali, were detained before the August war. The breakaway region insists on “all for all exchange” of detainees, including of those Ossetians who were convicted by the Georgian courts for various crimes before the August war.

The Georgian Foreign Ministry also said that “as a gesture of goodwill” Tbilisi had already released several Ossetians, who were “detained in 2008 during and after the large scale hostilities for such crimes as robbery, looting and illegal possession of weapons.”

Tbilisi handed over to Tskhinvali five Ossetians on December 2, followed by release of two Georgian teenagers by Tskhinvali later on the same day.

“Georgian side believes that unconditional release of all persons detained during and after the war will contribute to the rebuilding of trust between the "war-torn" societies and will be conducive to a stability on the ground,” the Georgian Foreign Ministry said.

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