De-facto Abkhazia Slams Georgia for Otkhozoria-Tatunashvili List

De facto authorities of Georgia’s Russian-backed, occupied region of Abkhazia, have released a statement which slams Tbilisi for setting up the so-called Otkhozoria-Tatunashvili list, containing 33 persons convicted or charged with grave crimes committed against the citizens of Georgia in the breakaway Abkhazia and South Ossetia regions since the 1990s.

Davit Gurtsiev, the "Assistant to the Akhalgori Prosecutor," and Alik Taboev, head of the Akhalgori Department of so-called security committee, who are charged for torture and illegal deprivation of Georgian citizen Archil Tatunashvili’s freedom on February 22, as well as so called Abkhazian "border| guard Rashid Kanji-Oghli, who killed Georgian citizen Giga Otkhozoria in 2016, are included on the Otkhozoria-Tatunashvili list.

The so called Foreign Ministry of breakaway Abkhazia says the action of Tbilisi and the Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze are of a “destructive nature” and may pose a threat to the Geneva International Discussions, which works on regulating conflict between Georgia and the Russian Federation.

“The Georgian side provided oral allegations without any objective grounds to the citizens of Abkhazia and South Ossetia for human rights violations and included them into the "black list", which envisages imposition of personal sanctions on international level,” the statement reads.

The de facto ministry added they “impose full responsibility for the possible destruction of the only international format on conflicts in the South Caucasus on the Prime Minister of Georgia, Mamuka Bakhtadze.”

On June 26, Georgian PM stated that the Government has determined all the measures to be taken against the people included on the list in order to impose all restrictions by the international community.

“The list is not complete because the law enforcement agencies continue investigation. As such, this list may be further enlarged,” Bakhtadze added.

The draft government decree reads that the government tasked the Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Interior of Georgia, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Bank of Georgia to impose restrictions, including visa, property, and financial transaction-related restrictions on the 33 persons included on the Otkhozoria-Tatunashvili List. 

The draft government decree was approved by the government at today's sitting and has already been submitted to the Parliament of Georgia for approval.

By Thea Morrison

Photo source: Agenda