State Security Service of Georgia says two Georgian citizens who were illegally detained in the occupied territory near the village of Dvani in Kareli municipality on January 13 have been released.
The service said the individuals are now on territory controlled by the central government.
“All relevant instruments at the disposal of the central government were actively used to secure the release of the illegally detained Georgian citizens,” the statement reads.
The State Security Service noted that, in the best interests of those detained, authorities deliberately refrained from disclosing their identities or other details in order not to hinder the release process. The Agency says that existing practice shows that such an approach makes it easier to achieve the desired outcome.
The central government of Georgia and the State Security Service continue to work actively toward the release of all Georgian citizens illegally detained in the occupied territories, the statement added.
Such illegal detentions are a recurring issue near Georgia’s occupied regions of Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali region (South Ossetia). Georgian citizens are frequently detained by Russian occupation forces and de facto authorities for allegedly “illegally crossing the border,” even though these so-called borders are not recognized by Georgia or the international community.
These incidents are largely linked to the ongoing process of “borderization,” during which occupation forces install barbed wire, fences, and artificial boundary markers that often cut through villages, farmland, cemeteries, and even residential areas. As a result, local residents are sometimes detained while tending crops, collecting firewood, or moving within areas they have traditionally accessed freely.
The State Security Service of Georgia and international partners repeatedly condemn such detentions, viewing them as part of Russia’s broader policy of pressure and control over the occupied territories and adjacent Georgian communities.
Photo: radiotavisupleba.ge
