Georgian doctor arrested in South Ossetia

A court has ruled to arrest Vazha Gaprindashvili, a Georgian doctor, who was detained for breaching the border with South Ossetia. Tbilisi doctors and the Georgian "Young Lawyers' Association" have urged to release him, pointing to the humanitarian crisis associated with the closure of the border by South-Ossetian authorities.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on November 9 and 11, four residents of Georgia were detained on the South-Ossetian border. Three of them were fined, while a criminal case was opened against Gaprindashvili – he had intentionally crossed the border, South-Ossetian law enforcers assert.

The Georgian NGO "Young Lawyers' Association" has called on the authorities to take urgent measures to release doctor Gaprindashvili. According to the NGO, he was detained when he was visiting his patient in a village of the Akhalgori District of South Ossetia, the "News-Georgia" reports.

"Vazha Gaprindashvili's family sticks to the version that he went to help a local resident who fell down into a well. Local authorities didn't allow transporting her to Tbilisi," says the NGO's statement.

The above NGO has emphasized that the closure by South Ossetia of the border with Georgia "led to a humanitarian crisis and complete isolation" of residents of the Akhalgori District. "After the closure of the checkpoint, it became known about the death of two people," says the statement.