TBILISI, September 10 – A Georgian man detained by Russian forces near the village of Khurvaleti in central Georgia has been released and returned to government-controlled territory, the State Security Service announced.
According to the agency, Tengiz Korashvili was seized on May 19 near Khurvaleti in the Gori municipality, close to the boundary line with the breakaway region of South Ossetia, which has been under Russian control since the 2008 war. His detention was described as “illegal.”
Officials confirmed that Korashvili is now free. The State Security Service said in a statement: “We continue active work for the release of all Georgian citizens who remain in illegal detention on the occupied territories.”
The incident highlights the continuing problems around Georgia’s disputed regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, where Russian troops have maintained a presence for more than a decade. Residents of villages along the boundary lines frequently report arrests by border forces of the Russian federal security service FSB for allegedly crossing into the disputed territories.
Disputes of this kind are handled through a mediation mechanism established after the 2008 Russo-Georgian war, overseen by the European Union and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
