Detained Gali Georgian’s Health is Failing, CSOs Say

Arbitrarily detained ethnic Georgian resident of Gali district in Abkhazia, Irakli Bebua, is in dire health but has not undergone any medical checks, which “could endanger his life,” two Tbilisi-based civil society outfits said on June 22.

Rights Georgia and Social Justice Center in the joint statement called on the Georgian government to “take any diplomatic and political measures” for securing the release into Georgia proper of Bebua, detained in September 2020 for burning an Abkhaz decorative banner. He was later sentenced to nine years in jail.

The CSOs said the arbitrary detention of Bebua should also be raised at the upcoming June 29-30 round of Geneva International Discussions, a multilateral forum to address security and humanitarian consequences of the 2008 Russo-Georgian war.

The statement stressed that despite being unable to “exercise effective control” on Abkhazia, the Government of Georgia is obligated to pursue an efficacious policy to guarantee human rights and security situation in the occupied Region, an effort the CSOs said remains “fragmented” and “weak.”

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