22:21, 20 December 2019

Georgian doctor Vazha Gaprindashvili sentenced in South Ossetia

Georgia-South Ossetia border. Photo: REUTERS/David Mdzinarishvili

Today, the Leningor District Court has found Tbilisi doctor Vazha Gaprindashvili guilty of violating the border and sentenced him to a year and nine months of imprisonment. The Georgian authorities announced they would seek the release of Vazha Gaprindashvili with the mediation of international institutions.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on November 15, a South-Ossetia court ruled to put Vazha Gaprindashvili, the president of the Georgian Association of Orthopaedic and Traumatologists, in custody for two months.

According to assumption of his relatives, he went to the Akhalgori District of South Ossetia to help Tamar Gigauri, whom local authorities did not allow to take to Tbilisi for treatment.

"The Tskhinvali regime punished Vazha Gaprindashvili for his principled and patriotic position and sentenced him for a year and nine months of imprisonment. The struggle for the doctor's release continues," the "News Georgia" quotes David Asatiani, the chairman of the Georgian Bar Association, as saying.

Georgian Foreign Minister David Zalkaliani condemned the verdict pronounced by the Leningor District Court. "This is categorically unacceptable, impossible, [this] is a violation of international standards, and we will use to the maximum all existing and non-existent mechanisms," announced David Zalkaliani as quoted by the "Georgia Online".

The Georgian Foreign Minister added that he would contact the Co-Chairs of the Geneva Discussions. "We will also initiate the communication with all international organizations, the current chairman of the OSCE, as well as the EU and the UN," David Zalkaliani assured.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on December 20, 2019 at 05:46 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.