PACE Georgia Monitors Express Deep Concern at Illegal Sentencing of Georgian Citizen

The co-rapporteurs of the Parliamentary Assembly for the monitoring of Georgia, Titus Corlatean (Romania, SOC) and Claude Kern (France, ALDE), on Tuesday expressed their deep concern at the illegal sentencing of Georgian citizen Zaza Gakheladze to twelve years imprisonment by the "court" of Tskhinvali.

“This is an illegal sentence by an illegal court. We call for the immediate release of Mr. Gakheladze. In this respect, we wish to underscore Russia’s responsibility as the country in control over the Georgian region of South Ossetia, as established by the European Court of Human Rights in its judgment of 21 January 2021,” said the two co-rapporteurs.

They went on to reiterate the full support of the Parliamentary Assembly for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Georgia within its internationally-recognized borders.

The "supreme court" of the self-proclaimed republic of South Ossetia sentenced Georgian citizen Zaza Gakheladze, residing near the occupation line, to 12 years and 6 months in prison.

The Tskhinvali court convicted Gakheladze on two counts: Article 317 of the Russian Criminal Code (encroachment on the life of a law enforcement officer) and Article 322 (illegal crossing of the state border). 

On February 9, it was announced that the same "court" of occupied Tskhinvali ordered two months of pre-trial detention for another Georgian citizen, Ramaz Begeluri, a resident of Gugutiantkari village of Gori Municipality. Representatives of the occupation regime illegally detained him on February 2.

By Ana Dumbadze 

Related Story: "Tskhinvali Court" Orders 2 Months of Pre-trial Detention for Georgian Citizen