President criticizes ruling party MP over illegally detained citizens’ comments

President Salome Zourabichvili on Wednesday condemned recent remarks by Beka Odisharia, an MP from the ruling Georgian Dream party, as “shameful” over the illegal arrest of Georgian citizens by the Russian-controlled occupation forces in the Gali district of north-western Georgia.

In a media interaction on Wednesday, Odisharia suggested that individuals allegedly involved in financial transactions across the so-called administrative boundary of Abkhazia might be linked to the recent, illegal arrest of two Georgian citizens.

He implied that those individuals should be returned to Georgian authorities rather than the Abkhazian or Russian occupation forces, asserting that the truth would be clarified once they were in Georgian custody.

Responding to Odisharia’s comments, President Zourabichvili criticized his understanding of the presumption of innocence and his acceptance of accusations from what she termed as the “so-called law enforcement officers” from the de facto Abkhazia region.

Zourabichvili also pointedly questioned the Georgian Dream party’s approach to resolving relations with the occupiers, hinting that the party’s strategy might be tied to securing a constitutional majority in future legislative actions.

The State Security Service of Georgia on Wednesday reported the arrest of two individuals on August 17, in the occupied Gali district village. The de facto authorities in Abkhazia accused them of aiding illegal border crossings and holding residence permits in the region. The detainees have been sentenced to two months of “pretrial detention” and were currently held in the de facto Abkhazian State Security Service isolator.