An illegally detained Georgian citizen has been released from custody in the occupied Tskhinvali/South Ossetia region and transferred to Tbilisi-controlled territory, the State Security Service of Georgia (SSSG) said on August 14.
While the SSSG did not disclose the individual’s identity, in line with its recent practice, the Res news agency based in occupied Tskhinvali identified him as 46-year-old Giorgi Kharaishvili, detained on December 5, 2025, and accused of “illegally crossing the state border of the Republic of South Ossetia.” Res said the release followed “the expiration of his sentence.”
According to the SSSG, “the issue of the Georgian citizen’s unconditional release from illegal detention was regularly raised by Georgia’s central government within the frameworks of the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism (IPRM) and the Geneva International Discussions.”
The agency said both the hotline mechanism and all other relevant instruments available to the Georgian side were used intensively, adding that “international partners were also actively involved in the negotiations.”
“The central government, together with international partners, continues its active efforts to secure the release of all Georgian citizens being held in illegal detention in the occupied territories,” the SSSG added.
According to the SSSG’s latest annual report, 34 cases of illegal detention were recorded around the occupied Tskhinvali region in 2025, while 40 cases were recorded in Abkhazia.
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