RSO: Georgian human rights activists visit their imprisoned fellow countrymen

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent, a group of Georgian human rights defenders - Paata Zakareishvili, Manana Mebuke and Vakhtang Komakhidze - arrived in the Republic of South Ossetia (RSO), where they met David Sanakoev, Ombudsman under the President of the RSO. Later, they were received by President Eduard Kokoity.

The Georgian human rights activists plan to meet the citizens of Georgia detained and convicted in South Ossetia, and relatives of missing citizens of South Ossetia, believed to be detained by Georgia's special agencies. Besides, they were going to meet media people and examine the objects destroyed in the course of last year's August warfare and now restored in Tskhinvali.

When meeting the activists, President of South Ossetia Eduard Kokoity said that he was ready to make use of his constitutional right and pardon the Georgian citizens convicted in South Ossetia; however, he would not like to do it under the pressure of Georgian authorities.

According to Mr Kokoity, none of the detained citizens of Georgia is a minor. "They were sentenced by our laws and our judicial bodies; therefore, saying that we keep minors here is not fair. Right after the court ruling we've sent minors home. People who committed crimes in the territory of the RSO were duly convicted," the "Georgia Online" Agency quotes President Kokoity as saying.

Messrs Zakareishvili and Komakhidze and Ms Mebuke were the first members of Georgian NGOs who came to South Ossetia after August 2008. Eduard Kokoity thanked them for courage and noted that "the present leadership of Georgia is not inclined to hold civilized dialogue, but South Ossetia is ready to cooperate with constructive forces in Georgia."

He promised to let the human rights activists to contact with the imprisoned Georgians and called the Georgian community to take part in the fate of those who stay in Georgian prisons. He reminded that among those considered missing there are minor Ossetians, whose beatings were videoed by Georgian policemen, as reported by the ITAR-TASS.

After meeting with Kokoity, the Georgian human rights activists met their detained fellow countrymen.