South Ossetia cannot exclude that detained Ossetian peacemakers are tortured

Sources in South Ossetia do not exclude that servicemen from the Ossetian peacemaking battalion, who were interned by Georgian power agents on August 29 in the Georgian-Ossetian conflict zone, are exposed to tortures. The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was informed about it at the United Press Centre of the Republic of South Ossetia (RSO).

This viewpoint was justified by the fact that the peacemakers seized on October 12, 2004, were also exposed to tortures. One of them could not withstand them and died.

A source at the RSO's Ministry of Internal Affairs to whom the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent went for comments has informed that "for the third day already the Georgian party would not admit even OSCE and Red Cross representatives to the detained peacemakers. There is no doubt that the soldiers are tortured."

We remind you that on August 29, 2007, the Georgian party detained, in Beshrueti village within the Georgian-Ossetian conflict zone, three peacemakers of the Tsinagar post of the Mixed Peacekeeping Forces (MPMF) who were making their way to Tskhinval to buy foodstuffs for the personnel of the post.

The peacemakers were accused of detaining people in violation of earlier agreements, without coordination with the MPMF deployed in the conflict zone.

Some of Georgian officials kept asserting that the peacemakers had kidnapped three peaceful Georgia's residents; however, other officials kept stating that they had kidnapped a filming crew of one of Georgian TV Channels. Meanwhile, it is known that detention of the above offenders was made not by peacemakers, but by employees of law enforcement bodies. Despite all that, yesterday the peacemakers were sentenced by the Georgian court to two months of preliminary imprisonment.