South-Ossetian president pardons Georgian doctor Gaprindashvili
Vazha Gaprindashvili, convicted in South Ossetia for violating the border, has been released and returned to Georgia. President Anatoly Bibilov explained his decision by saying that Gaprindashvili had collaborated with investigators and personally asked for pardoning.
The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on December 20, Vazha Gaprindashvili, the president of the Association of Orthopaedists and Traumatologists of Georgia, detained in the pre-border region, was sentenced to a year and nine months in prison. The verdict was condemned by the United States and the European Union.
As stated on the Facebook by the State Security Committee (KGB) of South Ossetia, Gaprindashvili reacted with interest to the official position of South Ossetia regarding the conflict with Georgia. He went to Tskhinvali and apologized "for the inconvenience caused by his actions" and thanked the Ossetian people "for the comfortable accommodation."
Earlier, Zarina Tedeeva, the press secretary for the Supreme Court (SC) of South Ossetia, has noted that Gaprindashvili had not pled guilty of violating the border, as he denies the independence of South Ossetia.
According to doctor's relatives, Gaprindashvili went to the Akhalgori District of South Ossetia to help Tamar Gigauri, whom local authorities did not allow to take for treatment to Tbilisi.
This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on December 28, 2019 at 12:01 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.
Source: CK correspondent