23.04.2008 - Source: Forum 18

Georgian Orthodox priest Pimen Kardava expelled after a "special decree" of the unrecognised Abkhaz Orthodox Church; according to independent sources, he was expelled by the SSS security police ("Abkhazia: Only Georgian Orthodox priest expelled") [ID 23042]

Document(s): Open document

11.04.2008 - Source: Civil Georgia

Gali district: According to Georgian minister, orthodox priest has been expelled by Abkhaz authorities; the clergyman had already been banned from performing service in Georgian-populated district of Gali; priest has reportedly been target to verbal and physical insults ("Georgian Priest Expelled from Gali") [ID 23019]

Document(s): Open document

11.03.2008 - Source: US Department of State

Freedom of movement was restricted by the de facto authorities; Abkhaz de facto authorities reduced the number of legal official crossing points with only one being open for vehicular traffic ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2007") [ID 22577]

"

Freedom of movement was restricted by the de facto authorities in the separatist regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Checkpoints operated by de facto militia often obstructed citizens' internal movement in these regions and from these regions to areas controlled by the Georgian government. In December 2006, Abkhaz de facto authorities closed the cease-fire line to all civilian vehicular traffic. Abkhaz de facto authorities reduced the number of legal official crossing points to six by the end of the year, with only one being open for vehicular traffic. There were some case by case exceptions made due to medical emergencies and funerals at other checkpoints. South Ossetian authorities closed the Transcaucasian Highway through a string of Georgian-administered villages to the north of Tskhinvali throughout much of the year."

Document(s): Open document

06.2007 - Source: Freedom House

Annual survey of political rights and civil liberties 2006 ("Freedom in the World 2007") [ID 20544]

Document(s): Open document

23.05.2007 - Source: Amnesty International

Moratorium on death sentences and executions in South Ossetia, but only on executions in Abkhazia; two prisoners were on death row in Abkhazia; at least 16 people had been sentenced to death since the early 1990s ("Annual Report 2007") [ID 20122]

"South Ossetia continued a moratorium on death sentences and executions. Abkhazia had a moratorium on executions only. Two prisoners were on death row in Abkhazia. Reportedly, at least 16 people had been sentenced to death in Abkhazia since the early 1990s.  

In June the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), in recommendations on the death penalty in Council of Europe member and observer states, stated that the death penalty should be abolished in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, and that all death sentences in Abkhazia should be immediately commuted to bring an end to the state of uncertainty suffered by prisoners on death row for years.  "

Document(s): Open document

03.04.2007 - Source: UN Security Council

Continued property rights violations; new civil code passed, which guarantees court protection of property rights; but owners displaced by hostilities since 1992 can not repossess their illegally occupied property ("Report of the Secretary-General on the situation in Abkhazia, Georgia [S/2007/182]") [ID 19689]

"Property rights violations continued to be an important issue. A new civil code has been passed by the de facto parliament, which guarantees court protection of property rights. However, courts have continued to decline as inadmissible claims filed by owners displaced by hostilities since 1992 to repossess their illegally occupied property. The Human Rights Office in Abkhazia, Georgia, has repeatedly drawn the attention of the de facto authorities to the need to discontinue this practice."

Document(s): Open document

06.03.2007 - Source: US Department of State

The situation in the Gali region of Abkhazia remained tense as a result of kidnapping, arbitrary arrest, and deaths in custody; abuse by law enforcement increased ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2006") [ID 19325]

"The situation in the Gali region of Abkhazia, where many ethnic Georgians live, remained tense as a result of kidnapping, arbitrary arrest, and deaths in custody. Systemic problems in the criminal justice system, in particular the failure to conduct impartial investigations and to bring alleged perpetrators to trial, sustained a climate of impunity. While the incidence of serious crime in Gali reportedly decreased during the first part of the year, the incidence of abuse by law enforcement increased, and included arbitrary arrests and detention as well as routine mistreatment of detainees. Law enforcement authorities rarely wore uniforms or carried badges or credentials, allowing them to act with impunity. The deputy chief of the Gali district police force, Otar Turnamba, reportedly extorted payments from farmers trying to bring their crops to market during the fall hazelnut harvest."

Document(s): Open document

09.2006 - Source: Freedom House

Annual survey of political rights and civil liberties 2005 ("Freedom in the World 2006") [ID 17302]

The Abkhaz can elect government but the displaced Georgians were prevented from voting, thus polls were regarded as illegitimate; as regards freedom of expression, independent newspapers are published, whereas TV and radio stations are restricted in political broadcasts

"Residents of Abkhazia can elect government officials, but the more than 200,000 displaced Georgians who fled the region during the war in the early to mid-1990s could not vote in the October 1999 presidential, March 2001 local, or March 2002 parliamentary elections. International organizations, including the OSCE, as well as the Georgian government, criticized the polls as illegitimate. Although the November 1994 constitution established a presidential parliamentary system of government, the president exercises extensive control of the region. [...]

The ethnic Georgian Abkhazian Supreme Council has been a government in exile in Tbilisi since being expelled from Abkhazia in 1993. [...]

Several independent newspapers are published in the territory. Electronic media are controlled by the state and generally reflect government positions. Private television and radio stations are restricted in broadcasting news with political content. A good deal of Abkhazia's broadcasting infrastructure is poor, as much of it was destroyed during the civil war more than a decade ago. [...]

The human rights and humanitarian situation in Abkhazia continued to be a serious problem in 2005. In its resolution issued on July 29, 2005, extending the Georgian observer mission (UNOMIG) through January 31, 2006, the UN Security Council stressed "the urgent need for progress on the question of refugees and internally displaced persons." [...]

Equality of opportunity and normal business activities are limited by widespread corruption, the control by criminal organizations of large segments of the economy, and the continuing effects of the war. Abkhazia's economy is heavily reliant on Russia. "

Document(s): Georgia
Abkhazia

25.08.2006 - Source: Civil Georgia

Woman sentenced to 11-year prison term for secretly taking pictures of coast guard patrol boats; she allegedly provided Georgian special services with information of Abkhaz army ("Abkhazia Jails Woman for ‘Treason’") [ID 17239]

Document(s): Open document

26.06.2006 - Source: UN Security Council

UN human rights office continued to operate, produced reports on violations of due process, arbitrary detentions, impunity and arbitrary evictions; in cooperation with local NGOs confidential phone line is made available for detainees, free legal aid for vulnerable groups and initiatives on women`s and children`s rights ("Report of the Secretary-General on the situation in Abkhazia, Georgia [S/2006/435]") [ID 15786]

"19. During the reporting period, the United Nations human rights office continued to implement the programme for the protection and promotion of human rights in Abkhazia, Georgia by monitoring the human rights situation and taking measures to prevent and redress human rights violations. The  office continued to provide human rights education and technical assistance to strengthen local non-governmental organizations and grass-roots initiatives. On the basis of information from victims, witnesses and other reliable sources, the office pursued reports of violations of due process; arbitrary detention and ill-treatment of detainees, including two deaths in custody; prolonged pre-trial detention; impunity; involuntary disappearances; and arbitrary evictions and other property rights violations. The office regularly visited detention facilities, provided legal advisory services to the local population and monitored court trials. 20. The Abkhaz side has not yet agreed to the opening of a UNOMIG human rights sub-office in the town of Gali, which would enhance the ability to protect the human rights of the local population, including returnees, in the zone of conflict. [...] 21. In cooperation with local non-governmental organizations, the office continued its projects to support a confidential phone line for detainees, training of prison inmates to facilitate their reintegration into society upon release, free legal aid for vulnerable groups, a folklore festival of local ethnic groups, internet communication between family members separated by the conflict, and awareness initiatives on women’s and children’s rights."

Document(s): Open document

28.03.2006 - Source: Committee to Protect Journalists

Abkhazia: Authorities relase 3 filmmakers and hand them over to Georgian authorities after detaining them for 3 weeks on charges of entering the region illegally ("Three filmmakers released from prison in breakaway region") [#47708],  [ID 5429]

Document(s): Open document

09.03.2006 - Source: Committee to Protect Journalists

Abkhazia: 3 Georgian filmmakers sentenced to 3 months in prison for espionage and illegally entering self-declared republic of Abkhazia ("Filmmakers sentenced to prison for espionage") [#46224],  [ID 5430]

Document(s): Open document

08.03.2006 - Source: US Department of State

Unlawful killings and arbitrary detentions were reported during the year; under new law Georgians in Abkhazia were forced to give up Georgian citizenship; number of Georgians and Abkhaz remain missing since 1994; young teenage boys were taken to Abkhaz military; Georgian Orthodox Church was not allowed to operate in Abkhazia ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2005") [#46124],  [ID 5431]

"During the year de facto authorities in the separatist region of Abkhazia restricted the rights of citizens to vote and to participate in the political process by introducing a new citizenship law that forced ethnic Georgians to give up their Georgian citizenship. They also failed to set up a human rights office in Gali. In both Abkhazia and separatist South Ossetia, deprivation of life, arbitrary arrest, and detention were problems. […] There were reports of arbitrary and unlawful killings in the separatist areas of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, areas not under government control. […]
Government and Abkhaz commissions on missing persons reported that more than one thousand Georgians and several hundred Abkhaz remained missing as a result of the 1992-94 war in Abkhazia. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) assisted joint official efforts to fulfill the country's obligations under international humanitarian law to provide answers to the families of missing persons. This included the determination of gravesite locations, the exhumation, identification, and repatriation of remains to the families. No repatriations occurred during the year. […]
The ICRC had full access to detention facilities, including those in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, and the OSCE reported no serious problems in obtaining access to prisoners or detainees. The prosecutor office's human rights unit enjoyed free access to prisons to monitor conditions. Local human rights groups and members of the prison monitoring council reported sporadic difficulty in visiting detainees, particularly in cases with political overtones. […]
In Abkhazia teenage boys were frequently taken from their homes allegedly for forced conscription in the Abhaz military. Some parents claimed that their sons were younger than 18 and thus too young for military service, while others claimed they paid ransoms for the release of their sons.
[...]
There was limited information on the human rights situation in Abkhazia and South Ossetia due to limited access to these regions. A human rights commission established by the unrecognized South Ossetian government was abolished in 2004 and replaced by a Plenipotentiary on Human Rights. [...]
Media in the separatist regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia remained tightly restricted by their respective de facto governments.
[...]
Former Abkhaz president Vladislav Ardzinba's 1995 decree banning Jehovah's Witnesses in the region remained in effect, but was not enforced. Although Baptists, Lutherans, and Catholics also reported they were allowed to operate in Abkhazia, the GOC reported it was not able to operate. The GOC patriarchate expressed concern over Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) support of separatism in the region by subsidizing Web sites that encourage secessionist sentiments. The GOC patriarchate also complained that despite the fact that the ROC recognizes Abkhazia as part of Georgia, the Moscow Theological Seminary trained Abkhaz priests and the ROC sent in priests loyal to Moscow, under the pretext of setting up indigenous Abkhaz churches."

Document(s): Open document

06.03.2006 - Source: Civil Georgia

Abkhazia: Detention of 3 Georgians filming churches; according to the Georgian Foreign Ministry, they were "brutally beaten" and taken into custody by the police in Sukhumi ("Tbilisi Demands the Release of Georgians being held in Abkhazia") [#45841],  [ID 5432]

Document(s): Open document

24.01.2006 - Source: Civil Georgia

Abkhazia: Security and human rights situation in conflict zone remains "precarious", says UN Secretary General Kofi Annan ("Annan: Security in Abkhaz Conflict Zone Remains Precarious") [#42729],  [ID 5433]

Document(s): Open document

13.01.2006 - Source: UN Security Council

Overview of the recent problems in Abkhazia ("Report of the Secretary-General on the situation in Abkhazia, Georgia [S/2006/19]") [#42799],  [ID 5434]

For specific information regarding Gali sector, Zugdidi sector and Kodori Valley please refer to the original document

"9. These developments took place against the background of an increasingly difficult and complex situation on the ground. The Georgian side was especially concerned over the security and human rights situation in the Gali district in the light of high-profile incidents, including killings. On a number of occasions, Tbilisi called on the international community to condemn what it referred to as human rights violations on the part of the de facto Abkhaz authorities and lack of action by the collective peacekeeping forces of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). The promulgation of a new de facto law on Abkhaz citizenship exacerbated the apprehension and fear among the local Georgian population that those wishing to remain would be forced to renounce their Georgian citizenship. Conscription of ethnic Georgians into the Abkhaz military created further consternation among the local population. The Georgian side protested those actions and appealed to the international community to denounce what it claimed to be an attempt to establish faits accomplis prior to a comprehensive settlement of the conflict. For its part, the Abkhaz side claimed that the escalation of tension in the Gali district was due to allegedly renewed activities of Georgian partisan groups, cross-ceasefire line criminal elements and incorrect media reports. It also expressed concerns over increasing military expenditure and modernization of the armed forces by the Georgian side, including the opening of a military base in Senaki close to the Zugdidi restricted weapons zone.

10. […] My Special Representative addressed a weekly quadripartite meeting, which brings together the Georgian and Abkhaz representatives, UNOMIG and the CIS peacekeeping force to discuss security in the conflict zone and issued statements, urging both sides to render all necessary support to ensure objective investigations of each incident, and offering to convene a high-level Georgian-Abkhaz meeting in order to discuss the deteriorating security situation."

Document(s): Open document

07.11.2005 - Source: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

Abkhazia: Georgian allegedly tortured to death for refusing military service ("Abkhazia Denies Ethnic Georgian Killed For Refusing To Serve In Army") [#38686],  [ID 5435]

Document(s): Open document

23.09.2005 - Source: UN Human Rights Council (formerly UN Commission on Human Rights)

Special Rapporteur raised concern about conditions of detention facilities, although there were no serious allegations of ill-treatement raised by detainees; Special Rapporteur also recommends that death penalty is abolished in Abkhazia ("Report of the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, Manfred Nowak; Mission to Georgia [E/CN.4/2006/6/Add.3]") [#43330],  [ID 5436]

"52. On 20 February 2005, the Special Rapporteur visited the detention facility of the de facto Ministry of Internal Affairs, [...] One cell contained pretrial and convicted adult female prisoners who had been detained for between 1 month and 10 years, as well as one prisoner who was sentenced to death. This cell was dark, dank, and poorly lit and ventilated. A red-hot, exposed wire fixed to a concrete brick provided a source of heat. On the day of the visit the cell was at its 12-person capacity; however, according to the detainees it was not uncommon for 16-20 prisoners to be held there. There was adequate bedding and facilities for personal hygiene. The detainees had no access to a radio or telephone, no possibility of sending or receiving letters and, save for five minutes of exercise per day on the roof, they did not have any other “leisure” activities. There were only male guards at the facility. A female nurse was on call, and although a doctor visited regularly, he prescribed only pain-relievers. The detainees complained that they did not have access to specialists, such as a gynaecologist. While there were no serious allegations of ill-treatment, the situation of one female detainee was particularly disturbing. This 50-year-old prisoner had been detained since 1994, sentenced to death in 1996, and was subject to the current moratorium on the death penalty. She had been immobile owing to illness for the last three years and received no medical treatment; she was assisted on a day-to-day basis by one of the other inmates. Despite appeals to the authorities for her release on humanitarian grounds, including by the prison authorities themselves, no response had been received.
53. The Special Rapporteur also visited a male prisoner on death row. Once the guard unlocked the padlock to the heavy black steel door, he did not know how to open it. It finally took at least three guards approximately five minutes to slide the security bolt across and pry the door open. The prisoner was alone in a dimly lit, poorly ventilated and dank 3 x 4 m cell with a latrine and two bunk beds. He did not make any allegations of ill-treatment. Although the Deputy Minister indicated that the prisoner could leave to take physical exercise every day except Sunday and could have regular family visits, it was clear that the cell had not been opened for a very long time.
54. The Special Rapporteur noted that there were no serious allegations of ill-treatment made by the detainees, but expressed concern that the conditions of detention fell far below international standards. He noted with concern that despite the de facto moratorium on capital punishment, it was still applicable in Abkhazia, in clear violation of relevant Council of Europe standards that were applicable in Georgia. [...]

With particular reference to Abkhazia, the Special Rapporteur recommends that the death penalty be abolished"

Document(s): Open document

08.2005 - Source: Freedom House

General information on political rights and civil liberties in Abkhasia ("Freedom in the World 2005") [#41618],  [ID 5437]

"Residents of Abkhazia can elect government officials, but the more than 200,000 displaced Georgians who fled the region during the war in the early to mid-1990s could not vote in the October 1999 presidential, March 2001 local, or March 2002 parliamentary elections. International organizations, including the OSCE, as well as the Georgian government, criticized the polls as illegitimate. Although the November 1994 constitution established a presidential-parliamentary system of government, the president exercises extensive control of the region.
The ethnic Georgian Abkhazian Supreme Council has been a government in exile in Tbilisi since being expelled from Abkhazia in 1993.
Opposition political parties include Aitara (Revival). Amtsakhara, a political group representing primarily veterans of the 1992–1993 war, has become a growing force in the territory’s political life.
Several independent newspapers are published in the territory. Electronic media are controlled by the state and generally reflect government positions.
[...] Most nongovernmental organizations operating in Abkhazia rely on funding from outside the territory.
Defendants’ limited access to qualified legal counsel, violations of due process, and the lengthiness of pretrial detentions are among the systemic problems in the territory’s criminal justice system."

Document(s): Open document

13.07.2005 - Source: UN Security Council

Abkhazia: Report of the Secretary-General on political process, operational activities, policing issues, human rights and humanitarian situation ("Report of the Secretary-General on the situation in Abkhazia, Georgia [S/2005/453]") [#34214],  [ID 5440]

Document(s): Open document

06.2005 - Source: UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights

Second quarterly report 2005 ("Europe, Central Asia and North America Region; Quarterly Reports of Field Offices") [#34648],  [ID 5438]

Document(s): Open document

06.2005 - Source: Freedom House

Violence against journalists occurred in Abkhazia ("Freedom of the Press 2005") [#42047],  [ID 5439]

"Violence against journalists occurred mostly in the separatist regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, which are tightly restricted by their de facto governments."

Document(s): Open document

25.04.2005 - Source: UN Security Council

Abkhazia: Report of the Secretary-General on political process, policing issues, human rights and humanitarian situation ("Report of the Secretary-General on the situation in Abkhazia, Georgia [S/2005/269]") [#31702],  [ID 5441]

Document(s): Open document

02.2005 - Source: UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights

Detainees were reportedly held arbitrarily, and there is report of a detainee beaten by police ("Europe, Central Asia and North America region - quarterly reports of field offices") [#29691],  [ID 5442]

"Several cases of denied access to detainees and reluctance to cooperate with the office were registered: on four occasions human rights officers were not allowed to visit detainees in the Gulripshi district and Sukhumi city. The office received credible reports of beating and abuse of a detainee in the pretrial detention center of the Sukhumi city police.
Inefficient policing, administration of justice and related human rights violations continued in the Gali district. The HROAG witnessed even a surge in the crime rate in the last two months of 2004 and the first month of 2005.

[...]
The culture of impunity still continued to prevail over the culture of accountability. Due to the lack of sufficient qualified personnel, equipment and professional training, the law enforcement bodies were unable to effectively maintain law and order in the district. The number of arbitrary detentions increased during the reporting period. HROAG met with detainees who had not been recorded in the registration log; some of the detainees were not even aware of their charges.

[...]
HROAG also monitored pre-trial detention facilities on a weekly basis, interviewing 25 detainees in the period under review, and approached the de facto authorities in the Gali district to raise its concern at their failure to provide detainees with legal counsel upon arrest, as well as with medical treatment in a few cases. During the reporting period, two trials took place in Gali district de facto court. As a result of the urgent intervention of HROAG upon the raid of the Abkhaz de facto special forces on both sides of the ceasefire line on 11 January, nine out of 13 arbitrarily arrested residents were immediately released, the rest being let free in the next few days."

Document(s): Open document

17.01.2005 - Source: UN Security Council

Abkhazia: Report of the Secretary-General on political process, humanitarian and human rights situation ("Report of the Secretary-General on the situation in Abkhazia, Georgia [S/2005/32]") [#28392],  [ID 5443]

Document(s): Open document

08.11.2004 - Source: Human Rights Watch

Rule of law and the administration of justice, including local law enforcement mechanisms, remained weak and did not provide adequate protection of the right to life and physical security, particularly in the Gali district ("EU: Engage India on Human Rights") [#26851],  [ID 5444]

"In Abkhazia, Georgia, the rule of law and the administration of justice, including local law enforcement mechanisms, remained weak and did not provide adequate protection of the right to life and physical security, particularly in the Gali district. In this relation, HROAG developed a human rights training programme for the local law enforcement agencies and offered to implement it in the Sukhumi militia school. Furthermore, the office provided legal advisory services to the local population and monitored court trials and pre-trial detention facilities. HROAG continued to promote human rights awareness and capacity-building through the implementation of the OHCHR Assisting Communities Together (ACT) programme aimed at the non-governmental sector. The office also facilitated a number of projects sponsored by other international donors and governments.

One of the major objectives of HROAG was to contribute to a safe and dignified return of internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees through improvement of the human rights situation in the Gali district. During the period under review, the de facto Abkhaz authorities were still reluctant to agree to the opening of a human rights sub-office in the town of Gali. In this context, HROAG actively worked from Sukhumi to address the needs for human rights protection of the Gali population and support local NGOs. In operative paragraph 18 of its res.1554 (2004) adopted on 29 July 2004, the Security Council “call[ed] again upon the Abkhaz side to agree to the opening as soon as possible of the Gali branch of the human rights office in Sukhumi and to provide security conditions for its unhindered functioning”."

Document(s): Open document

04.04.2003 - Source: European Parliament

War crimes ("Ad-Hoc-Delegation In Abchasien, Georgien 23. - 28. Februar 2003") [#14725],  [ID 5445]

"Beide Seiten berichteten über von der gegnerischen Seite während des Konflikts und bei späteren Zusammenstößen verübte Gräueltaten und sprachen in diesem Zusammenhang von „ethnischen Säuberungen“ und „Völkermord“. Beide Seiten stellten der Delegation Material zur Verfügung, in dem schlimmste Gewalttaten dokumentiert waren. Die Abchasen sprachen über die Zerstörung ihres kulturellen Erbes durch die Geogier während des Krieges. Einige georgische Sprecher äußersten Bedauern über die während des Kriegs in Sukhumi angerichteten Zerstörungen, gaben jedoch größtenteils den Russen die Schuld.
In Fragen wie ihrer gemeinsamen Geschichte gingen die Meinungen der Georgier und der Abchasen weit auseinander. Die Georgier vertraten die Ansicht, dass sie durch eine gemeinsame historische Tradition verbunden seien und betonten die große Zahl der gemischten Ehen. „Wir leben seit tausenden von Jahren zusammen“, sagte ein hochrangiger georgischer Politiker. Die Abchasen betonten ihre eigene Geschichte und ihre Eigenständigkeit als Volk. Die Georgier meinten, dass eine Versöhnung möglich sei, während die Abchasen der Ansicht waren, dass sich die Dinge für sie zu sehr verschlimmert hätten, um in einem wiedervereinten Georgien zusammenzuleben."

Document(s): Open document

31.03.2003 - Source: US Department of State

Modest improvement in the human rights situation reported by UNHCR ("Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2002") [#11848],  [ID 5446]

"There was limited information on the human rights situation in Abkhazia and South Ossetia due to limited access to these regions. The UNHRC Office in Abkhazia reported a modest improvement in the human rights situation. However, systemic problems in the criminal justice system, in particular the failure to conduct impartial investigations and to bring alleged perpetrators to trial, sustained a climate of impunity. Limited access to qualified legal counsel aggravated the situation. The Parliament Human Rights Office remained concerned at the length of pretrial detentions and violations of due process in individual cases. In July an independent legal aid office in the Gali district of Abkhazia began to provide legal advice to the population free of charge."

Document(s): Open document

14.08.2002 - Source:

IWPR: Abkhaz Children Learn of Parents’ War ("14/08/2002 - IWPR: Abkhaz Children Learn of Parents’ War") [ID 5447]

Document(s): 14/08/2002 - IWPR: Abkhaz Children Learn of Parents’ War

2000 - Source: Amnesty International

Otak Kulaia was sentenced to death on 31 August for heading a terrorist group; according to head of Commission for Human Rights 14 people were sentenced to death in Abkhazia ("Annual Report 2000") [#44451],  [ID 4851]

"At least one death sentence was passed during the year. Otak Kulaia was sentenced to death on 31 August for heading a terrorist group which caused explosions in the town of Tkvarcheli in 1998. The head of the Commission for Human Rights in Abkhazia reported in November that 14 people had been sentenced to death since the region had declared itself independent. No executions were reported."

Document(s): Open document