88th IPRM Meeting Takes Place in Ergneti

88th Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism (IPRM) meeting was held in Ergneti on July 10.

The talks focused on every significant incident that occurred in the occupied region of Georgia –South Ossetia and its vicinities since the last meeting up-to-date and poses threat to stability and security on the ground.

Erik Høeg, Head of the European Union Monitoring Mission in Georgia (EUMM), and James C. O’ Shea, representative of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), co-facilitated the meeting, which was also attended by the representative of official Tbilisi and also de facto South Ossetia.

European Union Monitoring Mission in Georgia (EUMM) stated there was some discussion about the risks the local population face at the Administrative Boundary Line (ABL), which at times results in detentions. The co-facilitators stressed that any increase in borderization would further hinder freedom of movement and deepen the divide between local communities in the area.

Particular attention was paid to the fact of torture and brutal murder of Archil Tatunashvili.  The representatives of the State Security Service of Georgia reiterated their categorical demand to transfer Tatunashvili’s internal organs to Georgia, which were absent when the breakaway Ossetian side transferred the body to Georgia in March, after a month delay.

The representatives of the Central Government stressed the issue of Davit Basharuli who died in unclear circumstances in the occupied Akhalgori district in 2014.

During the meeting, talks were held concerning the violation of rights of civil activist Tamar Mearkishvili in Tskhinvali by de-facto regime.

Georgian side called on the OSCE and EUMM representatives to take interest in the issue of illegal prosecution of Tamar Mearkishvili by de-facto regime and apply every tool at their disposal in order to relieve her situation.

The next meeting will take place on 14 September 2018.

By Thea Morrison

Photo source: EUMM

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