Publication: N26 / Review Period: November 1 – 30, 2023 / Author: Elene Mindiashvili

Monitoring of the Situation at the Occupation Line is being prepared within the framework of the project - Roadmap to Kremlin's Policy in Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali Region. The purpose of the publication is to review the situation and ongoing important developments near the occupation line in the Tskhinvali region. The publication will be useful for everyone – decision-makers, public employees, representatives of media and international governmental or non-governmental organizations,  and other people who are interested in the mentioned topic.

 

 

IPRM 115th Meeting

On November 1, the 115th meeting of the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism (IPRM), co-chaired by the head of the EU Monitoring Mission in Georgia, Dimitrios Karabalis, and the Acting Chairman of the OSCE, Special Representative for the South Caucasus, Viorel Moshanu, was held in the village of Ergneti, Gori municipality.

More details about the 115th meeting, please read here.

IPRM Extraordinary Meeting

On November 6, at the request of representatives of the central government of Georgia, an IPRM extraordinary meeting was held. The meeting was related to the facts of the murder of a Georgian citizen Tamaz Ginturi and the illegal detention of Levan Dotiashvili. Additional information about the incident, please read below.

Arrested and Released citizens

A total of seven Georgian citizens are currently in illegal detention in the Tskhinvali prison. The identity of four of them is known. They are: Lasha Khetereli, Giorgi Meladze, Khvicha Korinteli and Dimitri Korinteli.

Lasha Khetereli - the occupation forces arrested him for the seventh time in July 2023. He periodically moves to the occupied territory to visit family members living there.

Giorgi Meladze, Khvicha Korinteli and Dimitri Korinteli - on November 24, 2023, the occupation forces detained them near the occupation line in the vicinity of the village of Adzvi, Gori municipality.

The interactive map of illegal detentions prepared by the Rondel Foundation please see here.

Release of Mevlud Lagoshvili

Mevlud Lagoshvili, a resident of the village of Takhtisdziri (Kareli municipality), who was illegally detained by the  occupation forces in the vicinity of the occupied village of Gvirgvina on October 31, was released on November 2, after two days of illegal imprisonment. According to de facto administrative division, the village of Gvirgvina is located in the Tskhinvali district and borders with villages of the Gori municipality.

The Murder of Tamaz Ginturi and the abduction of Levan Dotiashvili

On November 6, in the yard of the Lomisi Church of St. George, the occupation forces killed a Georgian citizen, resident of the village of Kirbali, Tamaz Ginturi, with several gunshots. Ginturi was present at the scene of the accident to pray. Until August of this year, the Georgian population could freely come to the church to pray, however, in August, the occupation forces nailed the door of the church and forbade the population to move near it. Along with Ginturi, Levan Dotiashvili, who lives in the same village, was also present. He was illegally arrested and transferred to the Tskhinvali prison. On November 9, the occupation  forces released Dotiashvili.

Tamaz Ginturi was buried with military honors on November 11.

The mentioned murder had wide international resonance. The European Parliament adopted a 5-point resolution which strongly condemns the murder of Ginturi and the illegal detention of Dotiashvili, demands a thorough investigation, punishment of the perpetrators, and the release of other citizens of Georgia who remain in illegal captivity. MEPs also condemned the Russian Federation's interference in Georgia's domestic politics. Speaking at the 30th meeting of the Council of Ministers of the OSCE, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia, Ilia Darchiashvili, called the incident “another act of violence directed against ethnic Georgians.” The de facto Ministry of Internal Affairs of the so-called South Ossetia named official Tbilisi’s intolerance of the fact that “the territory of Georgia ends at the border of South Ossetia” as the main reason for the incident.

Release of Levan Petriashvili

On November 15, a citizen of Georgia living in the village of Ergneti (Gori municipality), Levan Petriashvili, was released from six months of illegal imprisonment. He has been in custody since May 15 of this year, after the occupation forces detained him near the occupation line, in the village of Ergneti. On May 29, the Tskhinvali court placed him in pretrial detention as a preventive measure.

Release of Levan Petriashvili. Source:  ssg.gov.ge

Arrest and Release of Paata Arakelov

On November 19, the occupation forces illegally detained Paata Arakelov, a citizen of Georgia living in the village of Akhrisi (Gori municipality). The village of Akhrisi borders with the occupied village of Zemo Artsevi. According to the State Security Committee of the so-called South Ossetia, Arakelov illegally crossed the occupation line in the section of Zemo Artsevi. He was released the day after of the arrest.

Arrest of Three Citizens in Adzvi

On November 24, the occupation forces arrested three Georgian citizens, Giorgi Meladze, Khvicha Korinteli and Dimitri Korinteli, near the village of Adzvi where they reside. The village of Adzvi borders with the village of Artsevi of the occupied Eredvi municipality where a military base of the occupation forces is located. According to relatives of the arrested, the fact of arrest supposedly occurred  in the vicinity of the Adzvi Church of St. George. As a result of the “borderization” process, the church fell on the occupied part of the village. The detainees are still awaiting the verdict.

Release of Vasiko Kenkadze

On November 28, a Georgian citizen Vasiko Kenkadze was “expelled” from the Tskhinvali region. He was in illegal detention after October this year when the occupation forces illegally detained him near the village of Balaani of the occupied Akhalgori municipality. The State Security Service of Georgia (SSS) released information about the detention on October 18. On November 27, the so-called district court of Akhalgori found Kenkadze guilty under Article 322.1 of the “Criminal Code” and imposed RUB 50,000 fine.

Release of Vasiko Kenkadze. Source:  ssg.gov.ge

“Borderization” and Activities Along the Occupation Line

In November, no information was published in open sources about moving the occupation line on the territory controlled by the central government of Georgia, however, the works of expanding and strengthening crossing checkpoints are actively being carried out during the last months. According to Davit Katsarava, the leader of the anti-occupation movement - Power is in Unity, on November 14-19, the occupation forces started to strengthen the checkpoint that had been abolished in the vicinity of the village of Sakorintlo (Kaspi municipality), namely they supplied construction materials and dug trench. He also stated that activation of the occupation forces was observed in the village of Orchosani, Akhalgori municipality on November 20. As per Katsarava’s reports, construction materials were supplied to the site and a new trench was dug around the old checkpoint.

Checkpoint of the Occupation Forces in the Village of Orchosani. Source: Davit Katsarava's Personal Facebook Page.