Georgian civilians living around the occupation line, or “Administrative Boundary Line” (ABL) as it is known by international mediators, frequently experience arrests, abduction and detention by Russian or South Ossetian “border guards” for alleged violation and trespassing of the “border”.
This is the archived 2023 page, click here for the current running year.
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).