Two Georgian citizens convicted in Abkhazia for crossing the border

The court of the city of Sukhumi, the capital of Abkhazia, has sentenced Archiko Rogava and his son Paata, residents of the city of Zugdidi, to two years in prison each, having found them to be infringers of the state border.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that the 59-year-old Archiko Rogava and his 25-year-old son Paata Rogava were detained by Abkhaz border guards on April 5, when, as their relatives assert, they were looking for their missing horse. According to the Abkhaz State Security Service (known as SGB), at detention, Paata Rogava struck a border guard with a stone in his face. On April 24, the SGB’s press service reported that the Sukhumi City Court ruled to arrest the detainees for two months.

Now, the above court has sentenced them to two years of imprisonment, the “InterPressNews” reported on August 1.

It should be noted here that their relatives repeatedly held protest actions on the Inguri Bridge, demanding from Georgian authorities to intervene in the situation. The State Security Service (SSS) of Georgia stated that it was straining efforts to release Archiko and Paata Rogava. The issue of transferring them to Georgian authorities was also considered at the meeting in the format of the Mechanisms for the Prevention and Response to Incidents.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.