Former soldier Mamuka Chkhikvadze, who was illegally arrested by the Russian-controlled de facto authorities of Tskhinvali in Georgia back in December 2021, has been sentenced to five years and six months in prison reportedly for “illegally crossing the border and smuggling in drugs.” 

The Georgian State Security Service said late on Thursday that the “charges are invented,” and that Russia, “which is exercising effective control on the region, carries full responsibility for such illegal incidents.” 

"The sentencing of Mamuka Chkhikvadze has once again demonstrated the inhuman and criminal nature of the occupation, for which the Russian Federation has full responsibility as a force exercising control over the occupied territories,” said the state agency. The State Security Service suggested that the hot line has been activated since December 12 over the illegal arrest as the former soldier was arrested on this day of the last year. 

"The issue of illegal actions of the occupying forces, including illegal detentions, is an important component of the agenda when the central Georgian government is communicating with international partners, and is hotly debated in all international formats," said the agency. 
Currently there are eight Georgian citizens illegally arrested in Tskhinvali.