Georgian civilians living around the occupation line (sometimes referred to as Administrative Boundary Line) of South Ossetia frequently experience arrest, abduction and detention by Russian or South Ossetian “border guards” for alleged violation and trespassing of the “border”.
This page keeps track of the latest developments of such arrests. Archived years can be found in the left sidebar. While having mapped incidents since 2014, the blogged chronology is currently only available from 2017 onwards.
2025
27 September 2025
Five children were abducted by Russian controlled forces in or near the Georgian controlled village Tamarasheni (Kareli municipality). The children were all under the age of 10. According to the father of one of the children they were playing in the village, from where they were kidnapped. According to the Georgian authorities, the children were released and returned to Georgian controlled territory.
10 September 2025
The South Ossetian de facto authorities released Tengiz Korashvili and transferred him to the Georgian authorities at Ergneti who was detained since 19 May 2025. He was one of three Georgian citizens arrested near Khurvaleti on 19 May 2025, but two were released shortly after (see below). He was released after “serving his sentence”. The South Ossetian KGB released wrong information, saying he was arrested on 19 August 2025 near Amdzarin in Akhalgori municipality – a totally different place, and date.
9 September 2025
The Russian occupation forces in South Ossetia reported on 9 September 2025 the detention (on 8 September) of a Georgian citizen near the occupation line at Zemo Khviti village of Gori municipality. According to the South Ossetian de facto Ministry of Internal Affairs the person crossed the occupation line with a tractor.
He stated that he was planning to visit relatives in the village of Isakau (Isaqkau) of the South Ossetian district Znaur district, located fifteen kilometer West. The Georgian authorities were informed through the standard hotline procedure.
Gamlet Margvelashvili, born in 1976, was released on 15 September by the occupation forces. Both the South Ossetian KGB and the Georgian State Security Service confirmed this. Margvelashvili was transferred to the Georgian authorities. The KGB bow said he was “in a state of alcoholic intoxication” and “unintentionally crossed the South Ossetian-Georgian border”.
2 July 2025
Georgian citizen Giorgi Mosiashvili was released from South Ossetian detention on 2 July 2025 after nearly two years. He was imprisoned since his arrest on 31 October 2023 near Sinaguri (Sachkhere municipality) – see below, at 31 October 2023, 5 June 2024 and 14 February 2025. According to the KGB of South Ossetia he “intentionally crossed the South Ossetian state border with Georgia, in the vicinity of the Sinaguri settlement, and carried out illegal extraction (catching) of aquatic biological resources.”
20 May 2025
The Russian occupation forces in South Ossetia detained three Georgian citizens on 19 May 2025, near the occupation line in Khurvaleti village (Gori municipality). One of the three was reportedly released on the same day, but the other two remained in detention. One week later, one of the remaining two, Giorgi Bolotashvili, was released and handed over to the Georgian authorities at the Ergneti exchange point.
26 March 2025
The Georgian State Security Service reported on 26 March 2025 two Georgians were detained by occupation forces. One was arrested near Ergneti village (Gori municipality) and the other in Sveri village in the Liakhvi valley north of Tkshinvali in South Ossetia. According to information available by Radio Tavisupleba, one of them is Lasha Khetereli, who was detained for the tenth time. He was last released in September 2024 from Tkshinvali prison.
9 March 2025
Three Georgian citizens were kidnapped and detained by Russian occupation forces near Plavismani (Gori municipality) on 9 March 2025. One of them was released on 11 March, the other two remained in detention of occupation forces. According to the South Ossetian KGB “foreign citizens intentionally violated the state border”. The three men (born 1954, 1979 and 1986) tried to enter occupied Chkharauli village, just across the occupation line from their home village Plavismani.
The oldest of the three was released due to “health problems” and was “expelled” (ie, transferred to the Georgian authorities). The other two men remained in custody for three months and were released on 6 June 2025.
16 February 2025
Two Georgian citizens were detained by Russian controlled forces near the occupation line. Initial reporting mentioned Dirbi village (Kareli municipality) as location of arrest, but later reporting stated they were detained at occupied Muguti village near Dvani (Kareli) . Two days later the two men, Giorgi Chitadze (1962) and Kakha Tshelidze (1974), were released by the South Ossetian KGB and transferred to the Georgian authorities.
According to the KGB they are residents of Kelktseuli (Gori municipality), a village six kilometer South-East of their place of arrest. The KGB claimed they were drunk and “unintentionally crossed the South Ossetian-Georgian border in the village of Muguti of the Znaur district” (between Dvani and Didmukha). Their agricultural equipment was returned to them upon expulsion.
14 February 2025
At the 123rd IPRM meeting, held in Ergneti, it became clear that two Georgian citizens were sentenced by de facto South Ossetian authorities to two and half year prison in Tskhinvali. Iason Gengiuri and Sergo Merebashvili were taken on 3 October 2024 by Russian controlled occupation forces near the occupation line at Mejvriskhevi village, while “attempting to demolish a border sign” (see below). In total six Georgians were reported being held in captivity in Tskhinvali, of which Giorgi Mosiashvili has been in detention since 31 October 2023 (see below).
At the meeting, the process of ‘borderization‘ by the occupation forces was also discussed. In the last four months, eleven cases were recorded by the Georgian authorities: one in November, three in December, two in January, and five in February – which suggests that after a lull, borderization activity picks up again. The activities along the occupation line concentrated in the vicinity of the village Dvani (Kareli municipality) and at unspecified sites in Gori municipality. They mostly concerned the renewing of (existing) fences and barbed wire.
22 January 2025
The Georgian State Security Service released a statement that Alexei Mamulia (53) and Vano Japiashvili (51) were released from occupation detention and transferred to Georgian authorities. The two were detained on 24 December2024 by Russian controlled forces near Tskhinvali and accused of assisting the illegal transfer of a deserting Russian serviceman to Georgia (see 30 December 2024).
According to the South Ossetian KGB they were sentenced to imprisonment for the duration of the “preliminary investigation”, which was finished on 21 January 2025. Even though the South Ossetian occupation authorities charged them in December with “illegal crossing of the state border by a group of persons by prior conspiracy”, they concluded the two crossed the border “by accident” as first offenders and therefore decided to release them.
“Considering that the illegal crossing of the state border was committed by the said foreigners for the first time, clearly by accident and with their active repentance, a decision was made to terminate the criminal prosecution and to hand over Mamulia and Japiashvili to Georgia.”
In their statement, they made no reference to the earlier accusations and “conspiracy” to assist a Russian deserter to flee to Georgia. In an interview Alexei Mamulia also did not refer to such a conspiracy.
He explained he came near the occupation line to meet with a Georgian relative from Tskhinvali whom he had to consult as a doctor. He asked Japiashvili, who is his relative, to show him the occupation line and the place where he was supposed to meet his relative from Tskhinvali (without crossing the border). Mamulia said they did not cross the occupation line, but nearby Russian soldiers thought otherwise and “completely unexpectedly came to us with weapons and masks and declared that we had violated the border”. They were taken to the detention facility in Tskhinvali and had a trial on the seventh day (30 December 2024). According to Mamulia they were treated well.
9 January 2025
The Georgian State Security Service announced on 9 January 2025 that three Georgian citizens were released from occupation detention and handed over to the Georgian authorities at the Ergneti transfer point.
Nika Mamastarashvili (34) and Ivane Lutsidze (33) were detained by occupation powers for nearly a year. They were arrested on 15 February 2024 near Knolevi. According to the de facto South Ossetian authorities, Zurab Lobzhanidze (32) was arrested on 17 August 2024 near Akhalgori. All three served their sentences according to the South Ossetian KGB, while the Georgian authorities emphasized the three were released due to their efforts via the response mechanisms.
2024
30 December 2024
The de facto South Ossetian authorities claimed on 30 December 2024 they foiled a plot by “a group citizens of Russia and South Ossetia” to smuggle a Russian deserter from the “from the special military operation zone” [Ukraine] via South Ossetian territory to Georgian controlled territory. The group allegedly assisted Vladimir Mamardashvili (born in 1999), seemingly of Georgian origin, in his arrival in South Ossetia and his “temporary secret placement in one of the private hotels in Tskhinvali”, with “fictitious registration”.
He was allegedly brought on 24 December 2024 to the occupation line with the purpose to be transferred to centrally controlled Georgian territory. According to the South Ossetian KGB, “immediately near the border, Mamardashvili was awaited by the Georgian citizens Alexei Mamulia, born in 1972, and Vano Japiashvili, born in 1974”. To pick up Mamardashvili, they “illegally crossed into the territory of South Ossetia from Georgia and planned to return back along the same route together with the deserting serviceman”, the KGB stated.
The two Georgians were detained by the “border authorities” on the spot while “committing the crime”. They were charged with “illegal crossing of the State border by a group of persons by prior conspiracy” and were imprisoned “for the duration of the preliminary investigation”. Mamardashvili was said to be handed over to the Russian authorities. The Georgian authorities did not respond to the South Ossetian statement and allegations, nor did they confirm the identity of the two people it reported in 26 December 2024 to have been detained. According to reporting by Radio Tavisupleba Japiashvili comes from Pkhvenisi village, south of Kvemo Nikozi.
Davit Katsarava, leader of anti-occupation movement “Strength is in Unity”, said on 5 January 2025, the two detained Georgians are employees of the Gori military hospital. Mamulia and Japiashvili were released on 22 January 2025 (see above).
26 December 2024
According to the Georgian State Security Service, two Georgian citizens were detained by Russian controlled forces near Zemo Nikozi (Gori municipality) near the occupation line of South Ossetia and close to Tskhinvali. No further details were released. At the moment of writing there were eleven Georgians in occupation detention. On 30 December 2024 it appeared the two were involved in alleged smuggling of a Russian deserter to Georgian controlled territory (see above).
12 November 2024
Just a week after the release of two Georgian citizens by the South Ossetian occupation authorities, two others were detained on 12 November 2024 near Tsnelisi by Russian controlled forces in occupied South Ossetia. No further details were available. At the moment of writing there were nine Georgians in occupation detention.
5 November 2024
Two Georgian citizens who were detained in Tskhinvali earlier in 2024 by Russian occupation forces were released. Khajarat Akhvlediani was illegally detained on 28 February 2024 near the village Takhtisdziri (Kareli municipality). Giorgi Romelashvili was illegally detained on 8 June 2024 near Tskhinvali (see below for both).
According to the Georgian authorities, the release of both was secured through active use of the hot line, EUMM mediation and the IPRM dialogue. According to the KGB of South Ossetia both detainees fulfilled their sentences by 5 November 2024, which was the reason to release and hand them over to the central government of Georgia.
15 October 2024
A Georgian citizen, Pridon Pikauri, who was detained on 19 September 2024 by Russian controlled forces near Zemo Artsevi in occupied South Ossetia (see below), was released and handed over to Georgian authorities.
4 October 2024
Georgian citizen Ramaz Begeluri, a 40 year old resident from Gugutiantkari (Gori municipality), was released by South Ossetian authorities from Tskhinvali prison, where he was imprisoned since 29 April 2024. He was handed over to Georgian authorities.
Begeluri was kidnapped near occupied Disevi, not far from Gugutiantkari (see below at 29 April). His mother said her son was at the village cemetery to clean his brother’s grave after which he vanished. His health condition worsened after previous arrests by occupation forces, when he was repeatedly beaten.
3 October 2024
Two Georgian citizens, detained on 16 September by Russian controlled occupation forces near Mejvriskhevi, face up to 5 years imprisonment by the Tskhinvali court of South Ossetia. The charge was “attempting to demolish a border sign”. According to the occupation forces, Sergo Merabishvili and Iason Gengiuri got drunk and tried to remove the sign placed on the occupation line in the vicinity of the village Mejvriskhevi in the Gori municipality, while video taping themselves.
30 September 2024
A Georgian citizen who was detained on 22 April 2024 by Russian controlled forces near Dirbi in occupied South Ossetia, was released and handed over to Georgian authorities. Two others who were detained at the same time, were released earlier.
24 September 2024
A Georgian citizen was detained on 24 September 2024 by Russian controlled forces near (Zemo) Artsevi in occupied South Ossetia. No further details were available. It has been the third abduction in a week time. At the moment of reporting, twelve Georgian citizens were in detention in Tskhinvali.
19 September 2024
A Georgian citizen was detained on 19 September 2024 by Russian controlled forces near Zemo Artsevi in occupied South Ossetia. No further details were available.
17 September 2024
Two Georgian citizen were detained on 17 September 2024 by Russian controlled forces near the Mejvriskhevi (Gori municipality) near the occupation line of South Ossetia. No further details were available.
13 September 2024
Two Georgian citizens were released from South Ossetian imprisonment and were transferred to Georgian authorities at the Ergneti transfer point. Lasha Khetereli (born 1998), was originally kidnapped on 3 July 2023 near the village of Gugutiantkari (Gori municipality), and was sentenced to imprisonment for violating the “state border” of South Ossetia. According to the South Ossetian KGB he was released as he served the full sentence. His release was announced at the IPRM meeting in Ergneti on 12 September 2024.
Ucha Jokhadze, who was illegally detained near Tsilubani village of Gori on 10 September 2024, was also detained for “illegally crossing the state border of South Ossetia”. According to his testimony in the occupation court he was lost and accidentally crossed the border near the occupied village Amdzarin. He was given an administrative fine and handed over to the Georgian authorities.
31 August 2024
A Georgian girl born in 2006 was detained on 31 August 2024 by Russian controlled forces near the village Tsinagari (Amdzarin) of Akhalgori municipality in occupied South Ossetia for “illegally crossing the border”. She was transferred to Georgian authorities the next day. No further details were provided, apart from the fact she faced no fines or other punitive measures given her health condition.
21 August 2024
The Georgian State Security Service reported on 21 August 2024 a Georgian citizen was detained by Russian controlled forces near Akhalgori in occupied South Ossetia. No further details were released. The citizen was released on 9 January 2025 (see above).
13 July 2024
A Georgian citizen was detained on 13 July 2024 by Russian controlled occupation forces near the village of Adzvi (Gori Municipality), near the occupation line of South Ossetia. He was released on 16 July 2024 and transferred to Georgian authorities. The South Ossetian KGB said the 59 year old resident of Adzvi “deliberately crossed the border”, for which he was arrested and charged with “illegal border crossing”. On 15 July the Tskhinvali court ruled him guilty of this administrative offence and expelled him with a fine.
1 July 2024
According to the Georgian State Security Service, a Georgian citizen was detained on 1 July 2024 by Russian controlled occupation forces near the village of Balta in occupied South Ossetia. The village is administratively part of the Kareli municipality. No further details were provided by the authorities. According to Radio Tavisupleba (RFE/RL), the person was not a local resident, but visited the area as a guest. The following day he was released, and was handed over to Georgian authorities.
8 June 2024
On 8 June 2024 Russian controlled occupation forces detained a Georgian citizen near the city of Tskhinvali. The Georgian State Security Service did not provide more details nor the identity of the man. According to Radio Tavisupleba, the detainee is not a local, nor a resident of the Shida Kartli region. Allegedly, his parents live abroad and he lives with his brother in Tbilisi. The Georgian authorities investigate his reasons why he went to the area near Tskhinvali.
5 June 2024
According to media reports, a Georgian citizen was sentenced to two years of prison by the so-called district court of Java/Dzau of South Ossetia. The 35 year old man was originally detained in October 2023 (see below) when he was caught fishing for trout behind the occupation line. He is a resident of Perevi (Sachkhere municipality), near the occupation line on the western side of South Ossetia. Giorgi Mosiashvili was charged with “violation of the state border” and poaching.
8 May 2024
The two Georgian citizens who were detained two weeks earlier on 22 April, were released on 8 May 2024 by the South Ossetian de facto authorities and transferred to the Georgian authorities. It appeared a third person was detained at the time, and he remained in South Ossetian captivity.
On the same day, the Russian controlled occupation forces detained a Georgian citizen near Akhalubani (Gori municipality), near the occupation line. The shepherd was released on 14 May 2024 and transferred to the Georgian authorities at the Ergneti transfer point. He herded his cattle on the village pasture. Another person who was with noted there was an ambush of the occupation forces in the bushes in Georgian controlled territory.
29 April 2024
On 29 April 2024 Russian controlled occupation forces detained a Georgian citizen near the occupied village of Disevi. He is a local resident of nearby Gugutiantkari (Gori municipality).
22 April 2024
Russian controlled occupation forces detained two Georgian citizens near Dirbi (Kareli municipality) on 22 April 2024.
15 April 2024
On 15 April 2024 Russian controlled occupation forces arrested three Georgian citizens near Otrevi and Artsevi of Gori municipality. The South Ossetian de facto authorities claimed that the three men “while intoxicated, illegally crossed into the territory of South Ossetia and deliberately set fire to dead wood, hoping that the fire would spread along the border”. They allegedly recorded their action on a mobile phone camera.
The South Ossetian KGB said they believe the goal of the provocateurs was to “create preconditions for their detention for violating the border legislation of the Republic of South Ossetia and to create a source of instability on the state border against the backdrop of the bill ‘On Transparency of Foreign Influence’ being considered in the Georgian parliament.”
14 March 2024
Two Georgian citizens who were detained by occupation forces on 24 November 2023 were released on 14 March 2024. The two men, born in 1988 and 1994, were charged by the occupation powers in South Ossetia for “Illegal crossing of the state border” and were sentenced on 13 February 2024 to six months detention.
28 February 2024
Russian controlled occupation forces detained a Georgian citizen near Takhtisdziri (Kareli municipality) on 28 February 2024. According to Radio Tavisupleba it concerns not a local citizen, but someone from the west of Georgia.
16 February 2024
Two Georgian citizens were detained on 15 February 2024 by occupation forces near Knolevi (Kareli municipality). The area is known for its borderization and encroachment on farmland belonging to local villagers. Over the years the occupation forces have prevented access of the villages to their pastures. They were released on 9 January 2025 (see above).
15 January 2024
A Georgian citizen, born in 1967, was detained by occupation forces near Akhmaji (Akhalgori municipality) on 15 January 2024. According to Radio Tavisupleba the detained was not a local resident, but came from Tbilisi. He was released on 1 April 2024 and transferred to Georgian authorities, the Georgian State Security Service stated in a press release. According to the South Ossetian KGB he “deliberately crossed the border to go fishing in the area”. On 27 February 2024 he was found guilty by the so called court of Akhalgori of the charge of “illegal crossing of the state border”.
2023
24 November 2023
On 24 November 2023, three Georgian citizens were kidnapped and detained by Russian controlled forces near the St George church near the village of Adzvi (Gori municipality). The arrest took place on the 2nd day of the Giorgobi celebration. On 5 December 2023 one person, Khvicha Korinteli (b. 1971), was released. The church just outside of Adzvi is often used by locals, but has effectively been under occupational control in the last five years, leading to frequent arrests. Against the other two persons born in 1988 and 1994 criminal cases were initiated by the South Ossetian occupation authorities.
20 November 2023
Information was released on 20 November 2023 that a Georgian citizen who was detained by occupation forces near his village Zemo Artsevi, was released on that day and transferred to Georgian authorities.
6 November 2023
On 6 November 2023 a Georgian citizen, 58 year old Tamaz Ginturi, was shot dead in the vicinity of the Lomisi church near Kirbali (Gori municipality). A second Georgian citizen, 33 year old Levan Dotiashvili, was detained by occupation forces. The church is located within the occupation line. It has been a recent scene of tensions after a Georgian flag was posted here and Russian forces subsequently sealed the door of the church.
The two men came to the church to light a candle when they were assaulted by the occupation forces. Ginturi was shot twice in the back and his car was riddled by bullets. Dotiashvili was released on the 9th of November 2023 by the Russian occupation forces.
He was forced to give a recorded testimony in front of the “state media” of South Ossetia: “Six of us were drinking at the cemetery. Valiko Dotiashvili, Tamaz Ginturi, Vasiko Tsiotashvili, Merab Papitashvili and Merab Datviashvili. After that we broke up, we went in two cars. One car – three went to the village. Three of us went to the church in Lomisa to light candles: me, Tamaz Ginturi and Tamaz Papitashvili. Tamaz Ginturi was sitting behind the wheel. We went up to the church. We lit the candles. The doors were closed, we opened them with an ax.”
31 October 2023
A Georgian citizen was detained by Russian controlled border guards near Sinaguri (Sachkhere municipality). In the area is a checkpoint to cross the occupation line, and an FSB base. No further details were provided.
On the same day a Georgian citizen was detained near the occupation line between Takhtisdzire and Gvirgvina (Gori municipality). No further details were provided by the authorities. According to Radio Tavisupleba the arrested was Mevlud Lagoshvili, a shepherd from Takhtisdzire, was shepherding cattle on the outskirts of the village. The detention came known during the 115th IPRM meeting.
27 October 2023
The Georgian citizen Ivane Iluridze, who was illegally detained by Russian occupation forces on 7 June 2023 near Akhmaji (see below) was released on 27 October, the State Security Service of Georgia announced through social media channels. He was transferred to Georgian authorities at Ergneti.
18 October 2023
Two Georgian citizens were detained and taken by Russian controlled forces at two different locations: near Ghromi village (Gori municipality) and near Balaani (Akhalgori municipality). Both were detained inside the occupied territory. No further details were provided, but Radio Tavisupleba found out one person is from Tbilisi and the other from Gori. Vasiko Kenkadze, arrested near Balaani, was released on the 28th of November 2023.
15 October 2023
The Georgian citizen Archil Basanidze, who was illegally detained by Russian occupation forces on 16 May 2023 near Tskhinvali (see below) was released on 15 October, the State Security Service of Georgia announced through social media channels. He was transferred to Georgian authorities at Ergneti.
5 October 2023
A Georgian citizen was detained on 5 October 2023 by Russian controlled forces near Andoreti village (Gori municipality) inside the occupied territory. Giorgi Darchaishvili, born in 1986, was released on 12 December 2023. The South Ossetian KGB said in a statement after his release that he “deliberately crossed the state border of the Republic of South Ossetia, near the village of Andoreti, in a drunken state”. According to the KGB he paid a fine of 50.000 rubles (1466 GEL), whereas before a typical fine would have been 2000 rubles (up to 60 GEL).
15 September 2023
A Georgian citizen was detained and taken by Russian controlled border guards near Odzisi village (Dusheti municipality). No further details were provided, but Radio Tavisupleba found out the person is a resident of Agari village (Kareli municipality) and was travelling in the direction of occupied Akhalgori. Petre Kalashnikovi was released and transferred to Georgian authorities on 8 February 2023.
22 August 2023
Two Georgian citizens were detained by Russian controlled border guards near Akhalubani village (Gori municipality). They have most likely been taken to the Artsevi FSB base. The two were released the next day and handed over to the Georgian authorities, which took place at Ergneti. The South Ossetian authorities said the two men, born in 1958 and 1991, live in Akhalubani and were detained near Adzvistavi. They said the two “illegally violated the regime of the state border” and were therefore fined and expelled.
28 July 2023
Two Georgian citizens (born in 1961 and 1970) were released on 28 July 2023 from South Ossetian detention. The two were originally arrested and detained by Russian controlled forces on 2 January 2023 in the area between Georgian controlled Koshka (Gori municipality) and South Ossetian controlled Kulbit for “intentionally and illegally crossing the border”. The two men are both residents of Tbilisi. After a “trial” they were sentenced on 18 July 2023 to six months imprisonment according to the South Ossetian “state media” outlet RES. On the 28th of July their sentence expired and they were handed over at Ergneti to the central authorities of Georgia.
7 July 2023
While the deputy head of the Georgian State Security Service presented the 2022 report on state security in Parliament, six Georgian citizens were abducted by Russian controlled forces near the village Mejvriskhevi (Gori Municipality), close to the occupation line of South Ossetia. According to Radio Tavisupleba they were attending a feast outside the village when they were arrested. Initially the six were taken to the nearby Ghromi FSB border guard base and from there they were transported to Tskhinvali.
The six men were released on 10 July and expelled from South Ossetia. The South Ossetian KGB said they were “intoxicated” when they “deliberately crossed the state border”. Five persons came from Mejvriskhevi, the sixth from nearby Akhrisi.
6 July 2023
According to the South Ossetian KGB 185 people “violated the border law” in the first six months of 2023. Of these, 91 violated the internal “border zone regime”. The remainder violated the so called “state border”.
The Georgian State Security Service released their 2022 annual report. They reported 69 cases of “illegal border activities” from South Ossetia / Tskhinvali, in other words, borderization activities. They reported 44 people having been illegally detained by the Russian controlled forces in South Ossetia.
5 July 2023
A Georgian citizen, Lasha Khetereli, was detained near Disevi by Russian controlled border guards in South Ossetia. No further details were provided by the Georgian State Security Service. Khetereli has been detained several time, and was last released from Tskhinvali detention on 28 February 2023 (see below).
21 June 2023
A Georgian citizen from the city of Rustavi was detained by Russian controlled border guards for “violating the state border”, according to the South Ossetian KGB. He was released on the 29th of June and transferred to Georgian controlled territory. The citizen, born in 1998, allegedly “deliberately violated the border in a state of alcoholic intoxication” near the village Dmenisi.
15 June 2023
According to monthly reporting by the South Ossetian KGB, in May “49 violators of the law in the border area were detained at various sections of the state border”, of which 10 had violated the “border” (occupation line). The other 39 violated the “border regime”, the regime that directs local South Ossetians to have special permission to be allowed near the so called border. 18 people were fined (three were expelled as well), 21 were warned and against two people criminal cases were initiated.
7 June 2023
According to the Georgian State Security a Georgian citizen was detained by Russian controlled forces near the occupied village Akhmaji (Akhalgori Municipality). No further details were provided by the authorities. According to Radio Tavisupleba, the detainee is not a local resident, but came from Tbilisi to the occupation line.
16 May 2023
On 16 May 2023, another Georgian citizen was detained by Russian controlled border guards, near the Georgian controlled village Ergneti (Gori Municipality). The arrested, Archil Basanidze, is a friend of the person arrested a day prior. When he learned about the arrest Basanidze climbed over the fence at the occupation line after which he was arrested.
15 May 2023
On 15 May 2023, a Georgian citizen was detained by Russian controlled border guards, near the Georgian controlled village Ergneti (Gori Municipality). This happened shortly prior to the transfer of a Georgian citizen back to Georgian controlled territory, in Ergneti (see below). Levan Petriashvili was released 6 months later on 15 November 2023.
14 May 2023
On 14 May 2023, a Georgian citizen was detained by Russian controlled border guards, near the Georgian controlled villages Kvemo Khiti and Zemo Nikozi (Gori Municipality). He was released on 15 May and transferred to Georgian controlled territory at the transfer point in Ergneti.
12 May 2023
According to monthly reporting by the South Ossetian KGB, in April “45 violators of the law in the border area were detained at various sections of the state border”, of which 24 had violated the “border” (occupation line). The other 21 violated the “border regime”, the regime that directs local South Ossetians to have special permission to be allowed near the so called border. This was an uptick compared to March when a total of 23 persons were arrested for either violation. 28 people were fined (three were expelled as well), 15 were warned and two people had the administrative offence withdrawn.
11 May 2023
On 11 May 2023, a Georgian citizen was detained by Russian controlled border guards, near the Georgian controlled village Mejvriskhevi (Gori Municipality). Giorgi Terashvili was released on Saturday 13 May and handed over to the Georgian authorities at the Ergneti exchange point. Terashvili was herding his cattle at the edge of Mejvriskhevi. The cattle moved beyond the occupation line and Terashvili chased them at which moment he was arrested by the Russian controlled border guards and taken to Tskhinvali.
30 april 2023
Two Georgian citizens were detained on 30 April 2023 by Russian controlled border guards near the Georgian controlled village Dvani (Kareli Municipality). This happened just a few days after the Georgian authorities addressed at the IPRM meeting in Ergneti the border incidents in April. The Georgian State Security Services stated on stated on 4 May the two were released and transferred to Georgian controlled territory. This was confirmed by the South Ossetian KGB.
21 April 2023
On 21 April 2023 a press release of the Georgian State Security Service stated “Russian occupation forces tried to illegally arrest two Georgian citizens who resisted their attackers“, near the village of Chvrinisi (Kareli Municipality). According to the statement “the representatives of the Russian occupation forces quickly left the territory” when (Georgian) police officers appeared on the scene. According to local reports, the Russian controlled troops were crossing the occupation line and moved onto the village to kidnap some when villagers resisted this.
After the incident, the Georgian citizens were kept at the regional Shida Kartli Police Department for questioning and the hotline operated by the European Union Monitoring Mission was activated by the SSS. The press released also stated “the central government will raise this issue urgently” on the upcoming scheduled Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism (IPRM) meeting in Ergneti, on 27 April.
17 April 2023
A Georgian citizen, Dimitri Mamagulashvili, was detained by Russian controlled border guards on 17 April 2023 near the occupation line of South Ossetia, close to his home village Dvani (Kareli Municipality). The hot line of the EUMM was activated by the Georgian State Security Service, by standard procedure. At the moment of the arrest, five other Georgian citizens remain detained in South Ossetia. Mamagulashvili was released four days later and transferred to the Georgian authorities.
According to the report of the de facto South Ossetian security service KGB, Mamagulashvili (born in 1991) was arrested on 17 April 2023 in the village of Khuimta (Znauri district) for “violating the state border regime of the republic”. The Znauri district court found Mamagulashvili guilty of this on 20 April.
According to reporting by Radio Tavisupleba, Mamagulashvili was celebrating Easter together with his fellow villagers on 17 April, near the Trinity Church of Dvani village. He left the table, after which he disappeared. The villagers assumed the occupation forces were hiding in the village.
7 April 2023
According to monthly reporting by the South Ossetian KGB, in March “23 violators of the law in the border area were detained at various sections of the state border”, of which 10 had violated the “border” (occupation line). The other 13 violated the “border regime”, the regime that directs local South Ossetians to have special permission to be allowed near the so called border. 18 people were fined, and 5 were warned. The KGB warned in the statement in connection with the upcoming farming season, residents need to get the appropriate permissions.
28 February 2023
Georgian citizen Lasha Khetereli (born 1998) was released from detention by South Ossetian authorities and handed over to Georgian authorities at the Ergneti crossing point near Tskhinvali. He was detained for more than a year since he was arrested on 12 December 2021 near Zemo Nikozi (see Dec 2021). He was originally sentenced to two months detention for “violating the border”. In 2020 Khetereli was also arrested and spent a year in prison until June 2021, henceforth the South Ossetian authorities initiated criminal charges and sentenced him for one year and four months prison.
Khetereli is an IDP from the Liakhvi gorge (in South Ossetia) which is under Russian occupation. He lives in Shaumiani (Marneuli) and frequently attempts to visit his relatives in South Ossetia. The villages in the Liakhvi gorge were destroyed during and after the 2008 war, which is considered ethnic cleansing.
6 February 2023
A Georgian citizen who was detained on 14 September 2022 by Russian controlled forces near Perevi (Sachkhere Municipality), was released and transferred to Georgian controlled territory on 6 February 2023, the Georgian State Security Service said in a statement. The Georgian authorities said they discussed the release of citizen Iobashvili at the IPRM meetings and raised it at the Geneva International Discussions.
2 January 2023
Two citizens of Georgia were arrested and detained by Russian controlled forces near the village of Koshka (Gori Municipality) for “illegally crossing the border” (of South Ossetia). Koshka is nearby the Disevi FSB border guard base. The two men were released on the 28th of July 2023 (see above).
2022
24 November 2022
A Georgian citizen was detained by Russian controlled border guards near Artsevi, in occupied territory. Standard hotline protocol was followed, no other details were provided.
1 November 2022
Three Georgian citizens were detained by Russian controlled “border guards” near the occupation line at Georgian controlled village Mejvriskhevi (Gori municipality). One of the detained was a minor. Standard hotline procedures were followed by the Georgian security authorities. On 3 november 2022 the trio was released and handed over to Georgian authorities.
19 October 2022
A 55 year old Georgian citizen was arrested and detained on 19 October 2022 by Russian controlled troops near the village of Bershueti (Gori municipality). The arrested Tamaz Glurjidze has been transferred to the Tskhinvali police detention center. The Georgian State Security Service confirmed the media reports about the matter.
According to relatives of the detainee, Glurjidze was visiting one of his fellow villagers, and after leaving the said family, he did not return home. Later, Glurjidze contacted his family members by phone and informed them that he was in an isolation cell in occupied Tskhinvali. Glurjidze was released the next day.
27 September 2022
The Georgian State Security Service announced on 27 September 2022 a Georgian citizen was released by South Ossetian de facto authorities. He was detained in June 2022 by Russian controlled troops. Only at the IPRM meeting of 23 September 2022 it became public knowledge Nukri Kalashnikov was detained. No specific date or location was given of his arrest. He was originally sentenced to two months pre-trial detention by the Tskhinvali de facto court.
14 September 2022
A Georgian citizen, Gela Iobashvili from Perevi, was detained by Russian controlled border guards on 14 September 2022 near his residential village. This became public knowledge at the IPRM meeting on 23 September 2022. The South Ossetian side did not activate the hot line after the arrest, and informed the Georgian State Security Service only on 22 September 2022 after the Tskhinvali court had already sentenced Iobashvili to two months pre-trial detention. Iobashvili was released on 6 February 2023.
12 September 2022
The Georgian State Security Service said in a statement on 12 September 2022 that a Georgian citizen was released on 9 September by South Ossetian de facto authorities. He was detained on 6 April 2022 by occupation forces near the occupation line near Adzvi.
24 August 2022
A 23 year old citizen of the United States was released on 24 August 2022 by South Ossetian de facto authorities and expelled to Georgian controlled territory. He was arrested on 27 July 2022 by Russian controlled forces near the village Balaani, located in the Akhalgori (Leningor) district of South Ossetia. The South Ossetian side “noted that the responsibility for this incident lies entirely with the leadership of Georgia and the United States, which refuse to recognize the sovereignty of South Ossetia and purposefully hide from foreign citizens the fact that there is a state border between South Ossetia and Georgia”.
18 August 2022
The de facto South Ossetian authorities reduced the sentence of former Georgian serviceman Mamuka Chkhikvadze to three years and 8 months for “smuggling marijuana”. The 31-year old man was arrested on 10 December 2021 (see below) and was charged with “illegally crossing the border” while allegedly having “more than four grams of marijuana” with him. The original sentence was five years.
One day prior former Georgian serviceman Levan Machabelli was released on after nearly 5 months of detention and transferred to Georgian controlled territory, the Georgian Security Service said in a statement. He was arrested on 26 March 2022 by Russian controlled troops for “violating the border” near Zemo Artsevi.
5 August 2022
On 5 August 2022 two Georgian citizens were released from South Ossetian detention, and transferred to Georgian controlled territory. They were arrested in December 2021 by Russian controlled troops near Lopani village at the South Ossetian ABL for “violating the border”.
13 July 2022
In the first half of 2022, “209 violators of the border regime were detained“, the South Ossetian KGB reported on 13 July 2022. If those, 134 were detained for “violation of the state border”, the occupation line with central-Georgia. In total 139 people got an administrative fine, some were expelled, while seven were criminally prosecuted and three criminal Investigations were ongoing. The KGB announced to tighten the compliance with the so called “border regime”, meaning only people with a valid ID and in some cases additional documentation can be present near the de facto border.
31 March 2022
Georgian media reported on 31 March 2022 Russian controlled forces have illegally detained a Georgian citizen near (Zemo) Artsevi (occupied South Ossetia). This is confirmed by the Georgian State Security Service, while South Ossetian media outlet RES reported the detention took place on 26 March 2022. The hot line through EU Monitoring Mission has been activated. The Georgian security service dismissed claims the detained person is in service of the Georgian military.
According to the South Ossetian KGB security services, the Georgian citizen (born 1987) was “a serviceman of the 3rd brigade of the Georgian Armed Forces between 2005-2009 and took an active part in the hostilities in August 2008 on the territory of South Ossetia”. They further claimed he “tried to join the Georgian National Legion and, as a volunteer, take part in hostilities against the Russian Armed Forces in the Donbass.” Upon allegedly being rejected, the KGB said he decided to “illegally enter the territory of South Ossetia and commit a provocation against the Russian military contingent stationed in the Republic”
They also accused the Georgian police of not detaining him. A well versed propaganda story of “Georgian Russophobia”.
22 January 2022
Reported on 24 january 2022 by South Ossetian RES: “Border guards in South Ossetia detained a Georgian citizen who violated the state border of the republic and handed him over to the Georgian side”. He was detained on 22 January, and released without a penalty citing health conditions. According to the South ossetian authorities he went to South Ossetia due to “economic difficulties and impossibility to find a job”.
14 January 2022
In December 2021 55 people were detained for violation of South Ossetia’s de facto border regime, the region’s KGB released. Of those, 33 violated the so called “state border” with Georgian controlled territory, and 22 the border zone regime. This is the regime that any South Ossetian resident needs a permit to be within the minimum distance from the “border”, for example to visit a cemetary, chapel, or house close to the boundary line.
5 January 2022
Radio Tavisupleba reported on 5 January 2021 based on a statement released by the Georgian State Security Service Georgian citizen Lasha Khetereli, an IDP from Liakhvi gorge, was arrested for the 6th time on 24 December by Russian occupying forces. He was sentenced to 2 months “pre-trial detention”. He was detained near Tskhinvali, a more precise location is not known.
He spent almost a year in Tskhinvali prison for “violating the border” and was released on 17 June 2021 (see below). As he served his sentence imposed by a Tskhinvali court, he was transfered to Georgian authorities. Lasha Khetereli has been living in the Shaumiani IDP settlement since the 2008 war, writes Radio Tavispubleba. He has relatives in South Ossetia region and travels there periodically to visit them.
2021
29 December 2021
The Georgian State Security Service released a statement on 29 December 2021 two Georgian citizens have been arrested by Russian occupying forces near Gremiskhevi village, Dusheti Municipality, which is close to the boundary line with South Ossetia. According to Power in Unity activists they were taken from Georgian controlled territory. They were released the next day. According to reports, the two men were collecting firewood in the forest when the Russian military came to them.
“I was near the occupation line of Gremiskhevi, where we were detained by the Russians. First they moved us to Akhalgori, then to Tskhinvali isolator. During the arrest, the Russians fired twice in our direction. We dodged the bullets by accident. We were in the territory controlled by Georgia, Russians came to our territory. During arrest there was a beating. The only question they had was whether I was in the army, to which we answered negatively” said one of the freed Georgian citizens.
Three weeks later, on 18 January 2022, South Ossetian authorities claimed the men “attempted to move household goods from Georgia to South Ossetia, intended for subsequent sale by local residents on the territory of Leningor district of the Republic.”
27 December 2021
On the 27th of December 2021 the Georgian State Security Service released a statement two Georgian citizens have been detained on 15 December by Russian controlled forces near Lopani village. The village is located inside South Ossetian controlled territory, close to the de facto boundary of South Ossetia and near the Chorchana forest. IAlthough it is a contested area between Tbilisi and Tskhinvali such arrests are rare in this area due to the hard to penetrate forest.
The two men have been accused of smuggling tobacco to Georgian controlled territory. They were charged on 23 December through the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation with Article 200.2 (“Smuggling of alcoholic beverages and (or) tobacco products”) and Article 322 (“Illegal crossing of the State Border”). They were subsequently sentenced to two months prison.
The South Ossetian side showed “visual proof” of the crime: six big bags full with (contraband) cigarettes, while not elaborating how these two men were going to smuggle this large amount to Georgian controlled territory through the dense forest. Ny December 2021 nice georgians are in South Ossetian detention, some for alleged smuggling which has become a convenient accusation to keep border violators” longer in detention as pressure on Tbilisi
23 December 2021
The Georgian State Security Service released a statement on 23 December 2021 four Georgian citizens were detained on the 22nd by Russian controlled forces, near the Georgian village Adzvi close to the de facto boundary with South Ossetia and a short distance from the Russian Advistavi FSB base. The detainees are 54, 41, 30 and 25 years old, Radio Tavisupleba reports.
They were released the next day following “active use” of the hotline, which operates through the EU Monitoring Mission. Radio Tavisupleba reports the men went to the St George chapel, which is near the ABL, where they wanted to light a candle and were then taken. A similar group detention at St George chapel took place in 2019.
20 December 2021
A Georgian citizen who was detained on 14 August 2021 by Russian controlled forces in South Ossetria was released on 19 December. The State Security Service of Georgia (SSG) stated that Tbilisi repeatedly called for his release at the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanisms (IPRM) meetings and the Geneva International Discussions (GID).
According to Gochoshvili’s own account, he had visited his uncle in the occupied region to bring medicine, and was on the way back to Georgia proper when he was arrested. He said he had three packs of cigarettes with him, for which the Tskhinvali authorities had accused him of smuggling, sentencing him to one year imprisonment.
15 December 2021
South Ossetian KGB Border Service reported 35 “border zone violators” were detained in November 2021. Most of them were fined and expelled.
12 December 2021
On 12 December 2021 Russian controlled forces have detained a Georgian citizen, a resident of Breti (Kareli Municipality), near Zemo Nikozi village (Gori Municipality) around the Russian occupation line of South Ossetia, according to the State Security Service of Georgia. The hotline was activated, which operates through the EU Monitoring Mission. His whereabouts were unclear to relatives for days after the detention.
10 December 2021
The State Security Service of Georgia (SSG) said on 10 December 2021 Russian occupying forces detained two Georgian citizens nearby Tsninagari village, located in Akhalgori Municipality, near the South Ossetia occupation line.
The South Ossetian KGB decided on 15 December to initiate criminal cases against both Georgians on the grounds of “illegal border crossing” (Article 322 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) and “drug smuggling” (Article 229.1). Both Georgians remain detained.
1 December 2021
The State Security Service of Georgia (SSG) said on 1 December 2021 Russian occupying forces detained a Georgian citizen nearby Vaneli village, located in Java district, deep inside South Ossetia. After hotline activation he was released on 3 December, saying he was physically abused.
According to him, as reporters noted, he climbed over two fences on the occupation line, nearby Ergneti (south of Tskhinvali) and walked by foot to Tskhinvali town. From there he traveled by car to Java district and then walked again for about five hours by foot before being arrested. He said he was trying to cross from Java into Russia, where he was going for work and medical treatment. He tried to cross to official Georgian-Russian border at Kazbegi-Larsi, but was deported from there, hence he tried it this way.
16 November 2021
Genadi Bestaev, who was detained on 29 November 2019 and sentenced to three years prison in Tskhinvali in March 2021 for “illegally crossing the border” and “illegal drug smuggling”, was released on 16 November 2021. This was announced after his health deteriorated in South Ossetian detention and experiencing a stroke. According to Georgian sources he was transferred in comatose critical condition in a Tbilisi hospital.
28 October 2021
According to the State Security Service Georgia, 2 Georgian citizens were kidnapped/detained on 28 October 2021 by Russian controlled forced near Lopani village in the sparsely populated forested hills north of Chorchana. The precise location is not known. In this area it is uncommon for citizens to become victim of such arrest. A day after they were released.
4 October 2021
According to the State Security Service Georgia, 3 Georgian citizens were kidnapped/detained on 4 October by Russian controlled forced near Ergneti village, in occupied territory. According to SSSG one “illegally detained person will be handed over to the Georgian central government in the near future”. He was indeed transferred on 5 October to Georgian authorities as he “probably has a health problem”. The other two were released on 6 October.
IPN pressagency wrote “according to one of the versions spread by the media in the occupied Tskhinvali region, a Georgian citizen tried to escape during the arrest, when s/he was injured.”. This was later confirmed when medical authorities explained the injured person fell down 10-12 meters.
16 September 2021
The Georgian State Security Service reported on 16 September 2021 a (Georgian) shepherd from Kirbali village was detained by Russian controlled troops near the ABL of South Ossetia. According to locals and the State Security Service he was taken from Tbilisi controlled territory. After a few hours he was released.
Power in Unity activists recorded aerial footage (YouTube) showing Russian controlled troops in the area had a German Shepherd dog with them, roaming around the forest near the ABL. One of them ran away into the bush when detecting the drone. On top of a hill they have a hideout, the video shows.
15 September 2021
South Ossetian de facto authorities reported an uptick of detained citizens for “illegally crossing the border” from 19 in July to 38 in August 2021. They said 22 individuals were fined, while others were released without paying a fine.
26 August 2021
A US citizen was detained by Russian-controlled occupation forces near Zemo Erman (ზემო ერმანი, Verkhniy Yerman) in the Java District of South Ossetia on 26 August 2021 for ‘illegally crossing the border’ and was taken to Tskhinvali prison. He was released 11 days later on 6 September. The American visited Georgia as tourist to hike along the entire main ridge of the Caucasus Mountains when he accidentally crossed the de facto boundary line. According to South Ossetian RES Agency, the American was not aware of the conflict line and the risks this ensued, as he “could not, through the official American and Georgian media, as well as various tourist materials, receive comprehensive information”.
In all fairness, this information is quite simply and openly available in national travel advises of western foreign ministries, including the US, which explicitly explains the situation on the ground and red flags visits to the boundary zones.
Yet, this incident underscores once more the vicinity of the boundary line is a danger zone for both tourists and locals.
14 July
After more than a year detention by South Ossetian authorities, Zaza Gakheladze was released and pardoned of his 12 year sentence. This came a day after the 101st IPRM meeting in Ergneti which was focused on the unconditional release of Georgian citizens from South Ossetian “illegal detention”.
Upon the intervention of Patriarch Kirill of the Russian orthodox church Gakheladze was pardoned in exchange of the Georgian release on 13 July of a South Ossetian resident who was arrested at the Verkhniy Lars checkpoint of the Russian-Georgian border.
7 July
In June 2021, 32 violators of “legislation in the border sphere were detained at various sections of the state border of the Republic of South Ossetia”, the press service of the local KGB announced. This includes South Ossetian residents who violated the so called “border zone regime”. Under this regime, “it is necessary to apply in advance for appropriate permits when traveling to settlements located in the border zone of South Ossetia, the KGB reminded in the press release. With the agricultural season, many local farmers in South Ossetia need to be near the boundary line, and thus need to have a special permit to be there.
26 June
17 June
After nearly a year in South Ossetian detention, Georgian citizen Lasha Khetereli was released after finishing his sentence and was transferred to Georgian authorities. He was detained on 30 June 2020 for “violation of the State border of South Ossetia“. His sentence was one year as “this offender was repeatedly detained for similar offenses”, the South Ossetian authorities defended.
15 June
At the 100th IPRM meeting in Ergneti, the South Ossetian delegation raised the “provocative actions of the Georgian police, whose representatives illegally cross the border with the Republic of South Ossetia”. Delegation leader Yegor Kochiev said Georgian police men frequently penetrate [the “border”] for 15-20 meters, moving back to Tbilisi administered territory when [South Ossetian/Russian] border patrol arrives. Also, the South Ossetian delegation reported 10 violation of the “border” were recorded since the previous IPRM meeting. All were detained, fined and expelled.
The Georgian delegation raised once more the Gakheladze case, discussing the possibility of his family to visit him in Tskhinvali prison. Zaza Gakheladze was sentenced earlier this year to more than 12 years prison in South Ossetia, based on charges he shot at [Russian controlled] border guards while “violating the border”. He was shot himself.
Zaza Gakheladze’s wife is not content with the way the Georgian government is handling this case. While speaking with Georgian representatives at the IPRM meeting, she announced civil action. If this has no effect, she said, she will walk across the boundary line of South Ossetia (immediately risking detention in Tskhinvali, like her husband). This threat led to a response from the South Ossetian Foreign Ministry a week later, calling the EUMM to prevent “another Georgian adventure”. The South Ossetian KGB meanwhile warned for “provocative actions” from Georgian activists who announced a protest on 23 June near the ABL.
10 June 2021
A citizen of (Tbilisi controlled) Kirbali village, Geronti Papitashvili, was detained by Russian controlled forces for “crossing the border”, but was released the same day after hotline activation by Georgian authorities. Another villager who was with Papitashivili managed to run away in time and warn the village. Radio Tavisupleba/RFE-RL writes Geronti Papitashvili was taken from Georgian controlled territory, next to the church, and dragged to a “border sign” where he was photographed. Papitashvili was tending his cattle near the church and cemetery above the village, which is close to the ABL of South Ossetia.
7 June 2021
A Georgian citizen was arrested on 7 June 2021 near Artsevi (South Ossetia) by Russian border guards as he “violated the state border of South Ossetia”. The South Ossetian authorities turned this arrest into a dirty propaganda show, claiming the arrested fled Georgia because of ethnic hatred by the authorities. Instead of giving political asylum, the South Ossetian side sent the Tbilisi resident back on 12 June, after recording a “video statement” by the detained. The ethnicity of the Georgian has not been published, a gap in the plot. This vile disinformation warfare and propaganda sets its own ironic trap: the South Ossetian authorities sends the “victim of ethnic hatred” back to the “evil Georgians”, lacking any compassion as it is preoccupied with accusing the European Court of Human Rights and the EUMM of closing their eyes for “Georgia’s discrimination”.
14 May 2021
The KGB of South Ossetia stated on 14 May a detained Georgian citizen was transferred to the Georgian authorities. The 45 year old man was arrested on 10 January 2021 for “illegal crossing of the state border”. The Tskhinvali Court sentenced him to a one year conditional imprisonment. According to the Georgian State Security Service the EUMM was actively involved in negotiating the release via the IPRM meetings.
2 May 2021
A drunk man who was driving from Prisi (South Ossetia) to Ditsi (Tbilisi controlled) drove through the closed gate in the fence along the ABL and entered Ditsi. After a little while he returned to South Ossetia, where Russian troops tried to arrest him. He did not stop, was then shot at, and finally arrested at his house in Prisi. Georgian police was too late at the scene in Ditsi. South Ossetian authorities confirmed the incident a week later in their own version.
2 May 2021
During orthodox Easter an incident took place in Khurvaleti. According to activists four people crossed the ABL from South Ossetia into Georgia controlled territory where they went to the cemetery, a tradition with Easter. They arrived with a Russian military UAZ van, while dressed as civilians. The Georgian police returned them to the other side of the ABL, without arrest. According to local witnesses this repeated 2 or 3 times. Around 9 pm the EUMM visited the scene. The next morning, the Georgian State Security Service confirmed an incident took place, but refrained from providing details except denying the incident took place on Georgian controlled territory.
Georgia imposed a general ban between 2 and 4 May on entering cemeteries due to the covid19 pandemic, to prevent mass visits during Easter. This topic was also discussed during the 99th IPRM meeting just days prior, in relation to potential boundary line issues. This cemetery belongs to Dzukata village which is closely tied to Khurvaleti. The two villages are separated from each other by barbed wire and fences. The line of control runs through the community area as can be seen in the maps below.
Local Qartli media writes the men were shouting in Ossetian to the Khurvaleti villagers to “come up, let’s drink a glass”:
“Our cemetery is located at the dividing line. On one side are buried the deceased who lived in big and small Khurvaleti, and on the other side are the Dzukantkareli. Those 3 boys were at Dzukantkari’s grave, they were shouting at us, Amid, let’s drink one glass, get up, Magi’s mother is crying. Our police thought they were cursing. I do not know from afar who they were, but in the village they are all our relatives and no one would say anything bad or call them.”
The South Ossetian side however took a different stance, it accused Georgian authorities of “a course of confrontation and provocation”. They turned the story around by saying the villagers were “provoked to violate the state border by insulting the citizens of the Republic of South Ossetia”. The KGB ignored in its statement that the cemetery in question is located on Tbilisi controlled territory, while suggesting it is within South Ossetian territory:
“So, on the evening of 2 May, four residents of the settlement of [Tsinagari] traditionally held memorial events at Easter at the Ossetian cemetery near Dzukata. As the cemetery is located near the state border, after a while a police patrol drove up from Georgia, whose employees tried to provoke them to violate the state border by insulting the citizens of the Republic of South Ossetia. The citizens of South Ossetia were forced to interrupt the memorial events, leave the territory of the cemetery and report this situation to the law enforcement agencies of the Republic. After the arrival of the border officials of the Republic of South Ossetia, the Georgian police, realizing the impossibility of carrying out further provocative actions, left in the direction of the Georgian settlement of Khurvaleti.”
27 April 2021
As was reported on 14th May 2021, an unidentified citizen was arrested near Khelchua by Russian border guards while trying to “smuggle contraband cigarettes” to Georgian controlled territory with an alleged value of $2800. He was charged with “violating the border regime” as well. Article 200.2 of the Russian Criminal Code was applied.
27 April 2021
At the 99th IPRM meeting in Ergneti discussionsfocused stabilization and normalization, “including ‘borderisation’ processes along the ABL, detention cases and the wider effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.” The co-facilitators from the EU and OSCE “took note of recent changes concerning freedom of movement and related pandemic measures”. They also called on participants to “improve the socio-economic situation stemming from the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing closure of the crossing points along the Administrative Boundary Line (ABL).” The continuig closure of crossing points fuels detentions along the ABL.
The Georgian government requested the unconditional and immediate release by the Kremlin-backed authorities of illegally detained Georgian citizens, including Zaza Gakheladze who has been sentenced to 12 years of prison.
19 April 2021
Just like on 8 April, the South Ossetian KGB accused Georgian authorities they “continued to urge residents of the [South Ossetian] Republic to illegally cross the state border”. This time the propaganda spin was targeted against the Georgian offer South Ossetian citizens “in need of emergency medical care” can freely enter Tbilisi controlled territory without the otherwise mandatory five-day quarantine. The South Ossetian de facto authorities keep the crossing points closed for people without special permits.. Thus the Georgian offer is translated as an invitation to South Ossetian residents to “illegally cross the border that threatens the safety of residents of the Republic”, emphasizing the pandemic situation in Georgia. Once again, the South Ossetian authorities refuse (to facilitate) medical cooperation.
14 April 2021
According to the State Security Committee of South Ossetia 28 violators of the border regime were detained in March 2021 at various sections of the “state border of South Ossetia”, up from 15 in February. 27 were fined, 1 was expelled from South Ossetia without a fine. For the first quarter of 2021 the number was 93, down from 120 a year earlier. Against three citizens a criminal case was opened, the rest was warned or fined.
Also, the KGB warned with the opening of the farming season “citizens must submit documents in advance for obtaining appropriate permits.”.
8 April 2021
“Tbilisi regime is provoking residents of South Ossetia to violate the state border in order to be vaccinated“, RES agency headlined on 8 April. At the end of March the Georgian Minister of Health of Georgia announced the intention to vaccinate the population of South Ossetia. The KGB of South Ossetia however discourages its citizens to accept this Georgian offer “as the use of [AstraZeneca and Pfizer] has been suspended in many countries due to the development of accompanying severe complications”. Also, the South Ossetian authorities keep the crossing points closed and thus warn against “illegally crossing the border”, and calls the Georgian invitation a provocation (to “unlawful” behavior)
1 April 2021
The Georgian citizen Ramaz Begeluri was “handed over to the Georgian authorities in accordance with the established procedure”, the KGB of South Ossetia announced. The resident of Georgian controlled Gugutiantkari village was detained on 3 March by a border guard near neighbouring Khelchua. Earlier he was sentenced to one year of conditional imprisonment after Tskhinvali District Court ruled him guilty of “committing a crime under Art. 322 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, the illegal crossing of the State Border”.
7 March 2021
Reportedly, the Georgian police prevented on 7 March 2021 the arrest of a Georgian citizen by Russian controlled “occupation forces” near Khurvaleti which is close to the ABL of South Ossetia. According to RFE/RL Radio Tavisupleba the Georgian police detained “two armed members of the Russian occupation forces” who entered up to 500 metres deep into Tbilisi Administered Territory. This alleged arrest was denied by the State Security Service of Georgia. A witness from the village described the situation to Radio Tavisupleba:
“In one of the plots, our village tractor driver Ramaz Chalauri was plowing the land. When he saw the gunmen, he ran away and called the police, at which point the Russians fired and demanded that the fleeing tractor driver stop. They had come to kidnap this tractor driver, but our police acted quickly, besieged, disarmed and arrested them on the spot, they also confiscated the car they were driving.”
This comes just a few days after the 98th Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism (IPRM) meeting in Ergneti where the Georgian authorities demanded the unconditional release of four Georgian citizens from South Ossetian prison. They have been sentenced by Tskhinvali court for “illegally crossing the border” with additional trumped up charges. Genadi Bestaev was sentenced to 3 years in prison, Lasha Khetereli to 1 year, Ramaz Begeluri to 3 months in prison, and Zaza Gakheladze to 12 years and 6 months. At the 52nd round of the Geneva International Discussions (GID) on 25 and 26 March 2021 the same demands from Tbilisi were on the table.
2 March 2021
On 2 March 2021, information was released by the Georgian State Secruity Service that Genadi Bestaev, a Georgian citizen who has been detained in Tskhinvali since 29 November 2019 has been sent by South Ossetian court to 3 years prison. In January 2020 he was alegedly sentenced to 2 years, but this appeared to have been a pre-trial detention, as the Georgian RFE/RL service found out.
Bestaev was originally arrested by Russian controlled forces near Khelchua / Zardiantkari. He has been accused of “illegally crossing the border” and of the possession of drugs (nine grams marihuana). According to witness statements to RFE/RL Radiotavisupleba the drugs charges have been fabricated.
The South Ossetian de facto authorities have stepped up their sentences of so called “border violators”, sometimes with extra and seemingly trumped up charges. In February 2021 a Georgian citizen was sentenced to more than 12 years prison.
27 Februari 2021
Near Bershueti a 60 year old Georgian citizen from Zerti was detained on 27 February 2021 by Russian controlled forces. Allegedly he lost orientation while hunting and accidentally wandered into the territory the other side of the occupation line . He was released on 2 March 2021, without paying a fine. The de facto South Ossetian authorities established he “did not intentionally violate the border”.
26 February 2021
A 29 year old Georgian citizen from Tbilisi was detained near Orchosani and expelled from South Ossetia on 26 February 2021, without sanctions. The accompanying motivation reads like Ossetian propaganda, and an attempt to embarrass the Georgian Power in Unity activist group:
“It is established that the illegal act of the violator was prompted by the attack on him by Georgian collectors, as a result of the incident with which he received a knife wound in his hand. Having made a decision to hide from the persecutors, Amiran Mantashashvili moved towards the South Ossetian-Georgian state border, at the same time resorting to the help of the Power in Unity NGO, which deals with borderland issues. At the same time, the head of the said NGO movement D. Katsarava personally recommended the most convenient border crossing sections, so that Mantashashvili could safely reach the South Ossetian border guard detachment, receive qualified medical assistance and possible shelter in a timely manner”.
8 February 2021
On 8 February 2021 the State Security Service of Georgia stated ‘representatives of the occupation regime’ in South Ossetia ‘illegally arrested a Georgian citizen‘ near the Roki Tunnel, which connects South Ossetia with the Russian Federation. No further information about the alleged arrest was provided at the time of announcement, except that the usual procedures such as the hotline were triggered.
Radio Tavisupleba reported a 20 year old Georgian resident of Gori, Eric Drulev, was the detained person. He has relatives in Artsevi, in the “occupation zone”, near the ABL. It appears Drulev has relatives in Vladikavkaz, making it likely he tried to travel to his relatives in Artsevi via the Russian border crossing at the Roki Tunnel in lack of open checkpoints from Tbilisi Administered Territory. On 11 February he was released.
5 February 2021
Georgian citizen Zaza Gakheladze who was shot on 11 July 2020 (see previous page) by Russian controlled forces near the occupation line of South Ossetia has been sentenced to 12.5 years of prison on 5 February 2021 by South Ossetia’s de facto Supreme Court. Gakheladze was charged with and found guilty of two offences of the Russian Criminal Code: article 317 (encroachment on the life of a law enforcement officer) and article 322 (illegal crossing of the state border). This is yet another dramatic case of Russian human rights violations and aggression towards Georgia in the occupied zone. The conviction led to international outcry and domestic protests. In defence the South Ossetian de facto autorities released a propaganda statement justifying the verdict, warping reality and proportionality.
2 February 2021
According to the Georgian State Security Service, “representatives of the occupation regime” illegally arrested a Georgian citizen on 2 February near Gugutiantkari (Gori municipality). Reportdly he was transferred to Tskhinvali. The hotline was activated and the EU monitoring mission was informed about the incident. The arrested Georgian of 36 years has farmland around the ABL and has been taken before but was released after paying a fine. In August 2019 Russian controlled forces started to install new fences around the village, through yards and cutting corners so that property of Georgians ended up on the other side of the fence. The Disevi FSB base is nearby, leading to a lot of arrests. According to villagers the Russian forces set up traps to kidnap local residents, Radio Tavisupleba reported.
On 8 February the South Ossetian authorities ordered the arrested Georgian to 2 months “pre-trial detention”. This lengthy “pre-trial detention” seems to be the new normal. Earlier most arrested for “illegally crossing the border” were released within a few days (or in some cases 2 weeks covid19 isolation) after paying a fine.
18 January 2021
RFE/RL – Ekho Kavkaza reported Zaza Gakheladze, who was arrested on 11 July 2020 (see below) by South Ossetian authorities, was on trial in Tskhinvali on 18 January 2021. Gakheladze was shot by Russian controlled border guards after allegedly opening fire to them near the occupation line.