Gaprindashvili's relatives demand meeting with Georgia's Prime Minister

Relatives of the Tbilisi doctor Vazha Gaprindashvili, who was convicted in South Ossetia for violating the border, insist on setting up a coordinating council for addressing issues regarding his liberation. The Georgian Bar Association has imposed on Russia the responsibility for Gaprindashvili's life and freedom.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on December 20, a South-Ossetian court sentenced Vazha Gaprindashvili, the president of the Georgian Association of Orthopaedics and Traumatologists, to a year and nine months in prison.

Tamila Lapanashvili, the Vazha's wife, said at a briefing at the Bar Association that she experienced "shock and disappointment." She demanded a meeting with Giorgi Gakhariya, the Georgian Premier, and to set up a coordinating council, which could deal with her husband's liberation.

At the above briefing, Eka Beseliya, an MP, has stated that Georgian authorities failed to do their best to release Gaprindashvili. "We should hear concrete answers from the authorities: what are they planning to do? What will happen to the person who was completely illegally imprisoned?" she has stated.

In his turn, David Asatiani, the chairman of the Georgian Bar Association, has declared Russian authorities to be responsible for the doctor's fate. "Those judicial bodies that function there [in South Ossetia], according to our legislation and according to the international law, are illegal, same as well as their procedures. According to our legislation, the efficient control is exercised in that territory by the Russian Federation. Accordingly, Russia is fully responsible for the health, life and freedom of Mr Gaprindashvili," the "Echo of the Caucasus" quoted his words on December 20.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on December 21, 2019 at 08:40 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.