Georgian Kidnap Victim Allegedly Being Detained in South Ossetia

It is alleged that Vazha Tortladze, a 53 year-old local citizen of the village of Knolevi in Kareli district, was kidnapped by Russian border guards yesterday morning, close to the demarcation line with the breakaway region of South Ossetia.

Various sources claim that Tortladze was working in his garden, together with his son, when he was taken at gun point across into the occupied region. This latest event follows other incidents in the week following the installation by Russian troops of new border signs deeper within internationally recognized Georgian territory. The signs serve to mark what has become the de facto "state border," dividing Georgia proper from the breakaway region of South Ossetia.

Shalva Enukidze, Head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) Analytical Department, said that “the son of the abducted man somehow freed himself and escaped. The agency has already informed the European Union’s Monitoring Mission (EUMM) in Georgia about the situation."

“The de-facto government representatives have not confirmed the abduction yet, however, we suspect that (Tortladze) will be taken to a detention center in Tskhinvali, capital of the breakaway region,", he added.

The MIA has already set up a hotline in order to keep up-to-date and to share detailed information about the kidnapped Georgian citizen.

Enukidze explained that the latest incident will be discussed during an emergency meeting in Ergneti under the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism (IPRM) on July 20.

The situation on the ABL of breakaway South Ossetia was first destabilized on July 10 when Russian-backed forces began illegally putting up signposts marking the “so-called border” on the territory adjacent to the village of Tsitelubani, Gori municipality, and the village of Orchosani, occupied Akhalgori district, also part of what is now described by Russian sources as South Ossetia, near Georgia’s main east-west highway.

As a consequence of the illegal border installation, a section of the British Petroleum (BP)-operated Baku-Supsa pipeline [near Orchosani] falls within territory that is now effectively under the control of the Russian Federation.