Archive - 19/12/2009

The authorities of the Republic of South Ossetia provided the representatives of human rights organizations of Georgia with the possibility to visit the Georgian citizens detained in South Ossieta. Three human rights activists Paata Zakareishvili, Manana Mebuke and Vakhtang Komakhidze, representing different organizations, visited Levan Khmiadashvili (1992) and Victor Buchukuri (1993), who had been detained together with two other teenagers (Georgy Romelashvili, 1995, and Aleko Tsabadze, 1996) on 4 November 2009 on the territory of South Ossetia.

South Ossetia finds no sense in the dialogue with the current criminal regime of Georgia, stated the RSO President Eduard Kokoity at the meeting with Georgian human rights activists visiting Tskhinval on 16 December. The Georgian civil society organizations were representative by Paata Zakareishvili, Manana Mebuke and Vakhtang Komakhidze. Emphasizing that the meeting was held upon the initiatives of the authorities of RSO, Eduard Kokoity stated "by inviting Georgian human rights activists in order to facilitate the settlement of problems of our people; we did not find any understanding or will among the Georgian authorities to take care about the fates of their citizens, Georgians detained on the territory of a recognized state – South Ossetia". "The were convicted in accordance with our laws, by our justice institutions and it is not correct that we keep in detention underage persons. We released the underage convicts right after the trial. We speak about persons who had committed crimes on the territory of the Republic of South Ossetia", said the President. He emphasized that he could use his constitutional right to pardon the convinced Georgian citizens, "but not under the pressure of the so-called Georgian leadership".