According to media reports, the Tskhinvali de-facto court sentenced Georgian citizen Giorgi Giunashvili (born in 1978) to 20-year imprisonment. Giunashvili was originally arrested on June 8, 2016, for the so-called “illegal border crossing", but later additional charges - active participation in the "illegal armed groups", namely, the so-called defense group of the Tskhinvali village of Disevi, were filed against him.

This unfortunate fact proves that the rights of the local population, including the IDPs from so-called South Ossetia, are still violated. They are subjected to illegal deprivation of liberty; their freedom of movement is restricted and their right to return to their homes is violated.

The Public Defender has been actively involved in the process of release of prisoners, which was successfully completed as a result of the dialogue between Tbilisi, Sokhumi and Tskhinvali in March 2016. The Public Defender has been supporting the creation of a mechanism that would ensure the safety of local residents. It is unfortunate that arrests are again taking place after that very important event and the rights and needs of the locals are again neglected.

The process of further harming the conflict-affected population should be over. The Public Defender addresses the de facto South Ossetian authorities to take effective measures to restore the violated rights of Giorgi Giunashvili and release him.

The Public Defender also calls on the Government of Georgia to use all available means to release the citizen from the unlawful detention. In addition, the Government must once again raise the issue of releasing the persons detained in Abkhazia and South Ossetia.