On May 25, 2016, the Public Defender of Georgia visited the family of Giga Otkhozoria, Georgian citizen killed by Abkhazian so-called border guards at the Khurcha-Nabakevi checkpoint on May 19, and shared their grief.

Ucha Nanuashvili believes that international responsibility for the murder of the 30-year-old young man should be unambiguously laid to the Russian Federation, as a state exercising real control.

The Public Defender has repeatedly stated that the rights of the people living near the dividing line are not properly protected, especially in the village of Khurcha, where civilians are left alone with Russian and Abkhaz soldiers.

Last week the Public Defender recommended the Georgian and Abkhaz sides to quickly and effectively investigate the murder and use the incident as the basis for the renewal of the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism meetings in Gali in the nearest future.