Abkhazian authorities deny detention of Georgian monk Jonah

The authorities of Abkhazia do not confirm information about staying of Georgian monk Jonah on the territory of the republic. This was stated on January 31 at the meeting within the five-sided Mechanism to prevent and respond to incidents (MPRI). The Georgian side agreed with the version, considering the possible kidnapping of the monk.

In particularly, according to representatives of Abkhazia, the border structures have not received the formal request about the possibility of crossing the border and visiting the republic by the monk Jonah.

The law enforcement bodies of the near-border Gali District of Abkhazia also did not confirm the detention of the monk. This was told to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent by a staff member of the international division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA).

After the meeting within the MPRI, Shota Utiashvili, the head of information and analytical department of the Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA), has confirmed that "the father Jonah was not detained by law enforcement officials of the republic of Abkhazia."

"The main issue at the meeting was the disappearance of the clergyman. According to representatives of the official Sukhumi, they did not detain him. There is the second version that he was kidnapped and that the kidnappers will demand ransom. They (the representatives of the official Sukhumi) promised that the priest would be released in the nearest future," the radio station "Echo of the Caucasus" quotes Shota Utiashvili as saying.

The priest's disappearance was reported on January 28 by Archbishop Seraphim, Metropolitan of Borjomi and Bakuriani. He said that the monk entered the territory of Abkhazia on January 24 and did not appear since that time. According to relatives of the missing person, they were contacted by unidentified persons from Abkhazia, who demanded for the father Jonah a ransom of 100,000 US dollars. Earlier, Shota Utiashvili refused to comment on the information, the "Our Abkhazia" reports.

At the same time, during the negotiations, the Abkhazian side claimed that the Georgian special services stepped up activities to destabilize the situation in the near-border region and to undermine confidence of local residents to the official structures of Abkhazia. The official Sukhumi treated the murder of Militia Captain Vitaly Rodonaya, committed on January 9 in the Gali District, as the evidence of the above.

The Georgian delegation also rejected the involvement of the secret services into the murder of Valmer Butba and Tamaz Kvekveskiri, committed on December 29, 2011.

According to a staff member of the Tbilisi UN Office, the 33rd meeting within the MPRI was held in the business environment and it was attended by all parties involved in the discussions in the professional manner.