Georgians Not Deported From Belarus? :: Charter'97 :: News

Until now the fate and location of the citizens of Georgia detained several days ago, Luka Tsuladze and Georgi Kandelaki, is unknown. Ombudsman of Georgia, Sozar Subaru, told to the Charter’97 press-center, that activists of Georgian movement “Kmara” did not arrive on Saturday to Tbilisi, as expected. This information was confirmed in the Tbilisi Institute of Freedom. Meanwhile, Belarusian official personalities do not give any information about the fate of the detained Georgian citizens.

Georgian president Mikhail Saakashvili at a press-conference in Kazan on Saturday expressed his concern over the detention of Georgian citizens in Belarus. As said by the Georgian leader, for several days neither Georgian nor Ukrainian consul, who had been asked for help by Georgian officials, has been allowed to visit the detainees.

“We are looking for their immediate release and exclusion of illegal actions towards them,” Saakashvili said.

The Georgian leader noted that no charges had been presented to them so far, which proves that “there is nothing connected to the Criminal code in this detention, it is purely political”.
“Georgian citizens have arrived to Belarus for participation in a seminar,” Saakashvili said.

The citizens of Georgia were placed to pre-trial detention center on August 24. Initially they had registered in a Minsk hotel, but checked out later. The KGB representative for Minsk and Minsk region, Uladzimir Svirydau, told to journalists that Kandelaki and Tsuladze had been interfering into the internal affairs of the country and were to be deported from Belarus. It was expected on Saturday, August 27.