The Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Tomas Hammarberg arrived in Tskhinval. He is accompanied by independent experts to carry out an investigation into circumstances of abduction of South Ossetian citizens by Georgian law enforcers during the hostilities in August 2008 and after.
The two independent experts Bruce Pegg and Nicolas Sebir already had a meeting with relatives of South Ossetian citizens captured by Georgian authorities, now they are having a meeting with the relatives of the missing South Ossetian citizens.
As Hammarberg emphasized, the investigation in the circumstances of South Ossetian citizens’ abduction would be conducted by relevant Georgian authorities, and the experts’ role is monitor the investigation.
"The experts’ experience will allow identifying how unbiased the investigation is”, said Hammarberg at the meeting with the relatives of the abducted South Ossetians.
Today, the CoE HR Commissioner Tomas Hammarberg will also meet with the South Ossetian Ombudsman David Sanakoev, as well as pay a visit to the RF Embassy in South Ossetia and Tskhinval Office of the ICRC.
It was earlier reported that the CoE representatives intend to obtain information regarding the circumstances under which the South Ossetian citizens were captured, as well as details of their whereabouts available to their relatives.
During the Georgian-Ossetian conflict (1989 – 2008) tens of South Ossetians were detained on the territory of Georgia, as well as captured and forcefully taken to the territory of Georgia from temporary Georgia-occupied part of South Ossetia. Resulting from unfair trials coupled with severe beatings and abduction of witnesses and even lawyers, majority of detainees were sentenced to long imprisonment term. Seven citizens of South Ossetia, including one underage person, are considered by Georgian authorities missing, despite the fact that the South Ossetian side has video materials with beating of the abducted persons by representatives of Georgia law enforcement bodies.
