Illegally Detained Georgian Citizen Released From Occupied Territory

The State Security Service of Georgia (SSSG) reported on April 8 that a Georgian citizen who had been held in illegal detention is now “free” and in Tbilisi-controlled territory. While the agency did not specify the occupied region where the individual had been held, the Tskhinvali de facto authorities reported about the “expulsion” of a Georgian national.

“In the process of releasing a Georgian citizen from illegal detention, both the “hotline” mechanism operating with the direct involvement of the EU Monitoring Mission in Georgia (EUMM) and all relevant instruments available to the central government were actively used,” the SSSG said, adding that they “continue to work actively toward the release of all Georgian citizens held in illegal detention in the occupied territories.”

In line with its new practice, the agency did not disclose the individual’s identity or release any photos of their release. It also did not provide the location or date of detention, nor specify the occupied territory where the individual had been held illegally.

In a separate report also released on April 8, RES, a media agency run by the de facto authorities of the Russia-occupied Tskhinvali region, cited the local KGB press service as saying that Zurab Gachechiladze, a 1984-born resident of Khashuri municipality, had been detained for “illegally crossing the republic’s border” near the village of Vakhtana. According to the same source, he was later “expelled” from the territory.

According to the Georgian Public Defender’s latest annual report on the State of Human Rights and Freedoms, in 2025, a total of 32 individuals were detained along the occupation line of the Tskhinvali region, including 25 men, three women, and four minors. In the direction of occupied Abkhazia, 40 individuals were detained, including 35 men, three women, and four minors.

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• 22/02/2026 – Illegally Detained Georgian Citizen Released from Tskhinvali Custody
• 10/02/2026 – Georgian Citizen Illegally Detained by Russian Occupation Forces Released