Abkhaz Teen Interrogated, Forced to Apologize Over ‘Abkhazia is Georgia’ Remarks

Police in occupied Abkhazia have interrogated and forced 19-year-old ethnic Abkhaz Aliona Tania to publicly apologize over her “Abkhazia is Georgia” video remarks on social networks. The controversial video also shows another youngster, presumably Tania’s friend, in the background.

Police video-footage report, released on March 29 and titled “Abkhazia is not Georgia,” shows Tania offering apologies “to everyone” for the controversial post, saying “she is very sorry.”

In her apology, the teen also says she “was asked to,” but it remains unclear whether she meant being asked to upload the “Abkhazia is Georgia” video or to apologize for it.

Police also questioned Tania’s parents. The police video-footage shows the father condemning her daughter’s actions as “wrong,” while the police are heard asking the parents “how she could allow herself such a thing.” In the footage, the father is also heard crediting himself for fighting in the war of 1992-1993 against the Georgian forces.

But the Abkhaz interior ministry says the story will not end with only the “apology” by Tania, stating that a “pre-investigation check” is carried out in relation to “all those involved.”

Further social media pictures, allegedly uploaded at various times and featuring young women dressed in a police uniform, presumably also involving Tania, added to the controversy. Abkhaz police said the girls used the uniform belonging to their acquaintance who is a “retired staffer of internal affairs unit.” According to the report, “all participants and circumstances of this incident have been established.”

The police said it intervened after “multiple complaints from concerned citizens” arrived at law enforcement bodies over Tania’s video.

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