Occupation-affected Man Attempts Suicide in Tskhinvali Region
Relatives say forced separation from wife behind man's behavior
Malkhaz Vanishvili, living right behind Tskhinvali region dividing line, who received South Ossetian ‘citizenship’ in last December, attempted a suicide yesterday, Georgian media reported.
The State Security Service of Georgia, having contacted the authorities in the Russian-occupied region, said that Vanishvili was immediately hospitalized to Tskhinvali hospital, with his life being no longer in danger.
Malkhaz Vanishvili (Kurtaev), is a grandchild of infamous Davit (Data) Vanishvili, who woke up one day back in 2013 to find out that a barbed wire fence installed by Kremlin-backed authorities cut his house off from the rest of Georgia.
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) Georgian service reported that Malkhaz Vanishvili had a dual – Russian-Georgian citizenship before and mainly lived with his grandfather; however, after marrying an ethnic Georgian woman Tatia Adikashvili and facing pressure from Russian “border guards,” the couple moved to Tbilisi-controlled part of Khurvaleti village to live off the woman’s relatives.
Vanishvili last travelled to Tskhinvali region with eight-month-pregnant Adikashvili in early December, 2020, but the latter was forced back to Georgia proper on December 17, while Vanishvili was allowed to stay in the region as he received South Ossetian “citizenship.” According to media reports, Tskhinvali authorities refused to grant “citizenship” to Adikashvili.
Adikashvili told reporters back then in December that they moved to the occupied region to visit Malkhaz Vanishvili’s grandfather, while the couple’s relatives cited grave socio-economic conditions as the reason behind the family’s decision.
In the interview with Radio Liberty, Vanishvili’s family members cited forced separation with the wife as the reason behind Malkhaz Vanishvili’s attempted suicide. Locals dubbed the couple as “the victims of occupation,” calling on the authorities to assist the affected family.
Khurvaleti, a mixed Georgian-Ossetian village in Tbilisi-controlled Gori Municipality, touching the Russian-controlled Tskhinvali on three sides, has been particularly affected by “borderization” process. According to the Georgian Public Defender’s Office, approximately 36 hectares of agricultural land and pastures, as well as the village cemetery and several households, appeared in the Russian-held territory in the aftermath of the 2008 war.
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