On May 19, the Public Defender of Georgia was informed of the murder of a young man, G.O., at the dividing line of Abkhazia. According to reports, G.O. was trying to convey products at the Khurcha-Nabakevi checkpoint, during which he argued with the so-called Abkhazian border guard. The latter fired shots several times, resulting in G.O.’s death.

The mentioned case is a gross violation of the right to life, international legal responsibility for which lies with the Russian Federation, as a state having real control over the territory. The Russian Federation fully controls the whole perimeter of the Abkhazian dividing line with its border troops.

The rights of the local population near the dividing line are not properly protected, particularly in the village of Khurcha. The Georgian police checkpoint is located at the beginning of the village, while at the end of the village there is the so-called Russian-Abkhazian checkpoint. The local population is left alone with Russian and Abkhaz military forces.

According to the information provided to the Public Defender, the murder took place on the territory controlled by Georgia, highlighting the vulnerability of the locals. It should be noted that the bridge, where the murder took place, are daily crossed by civilians, including school children. They put their lives under risk for their educational, health and other basic needs.

This incident once again highlights the serious security problems at the dividing line. The Public Defender has repeatedly mentioned in his reports that the freedom of movement of people living along the dividing line is restricted. There have been a number of fatal cases, including the death of a juvenile, due to the restrictions on the freedom of movement. Security problems are aggravated by the fact that troops are deployed near the settled areas that causes fear and tension among the local population.

The Public Defender offers his condolences to the victim’s family and urges all parties to cooperate in order to quickly and effectively investigate the case. This will create an important precedent of cooperation between the parties and will demonstrate willingness to ease the situation of local population living on both sides of the conflict. The Public Defender addresses the Georgian and Abkhaz sides with a recommendation to use this incident as grounds for conducting a renewed meeting of the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism in Gali in the near future.