Presidential Envoy of South Ossetia for post-conflict settlement Murat Dzhioev and Presidential Commissioner of South Ossetia for Human Rights Inal Tasoev have sent a letter to the co-chairs of the Geneva international discussions on security in Transcaucasia in connection with the information that in a Gldani prison number 8 in Tbilisi (Georgia) the prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment, have gone on hunger strike, demanding a review of their cases.
As IA "Res" was informed at the office of the RSO Presidential Envoy for post-conflict settlement, Dzhioev and Tasoev had expressed their concern about the fate and health of the citizens of South Ossetia Georgy Valiev, Georgy Zasseev, Joseph Kochiev kept in the prison, and also participating in the hunger strike.
"Keeping in mind the numerous cases of reprisal against the prisoners from South Ossetia during the disorders in Georgian prisons, as well as taking into account the facts of gross violations of human rights and tortures in Georgian prisons, which were made public last year, we express our grave concern and we appeal to the authorities of Georgia to exclude illegal actions against the above mentioned citizens of South Ossetia, "- is said in a letter of the co-chair of the Geneva talks.
It is emphasized in the letter that the assistance of the co-chairs in addressing the issue of releasing the South Ossetian and Georgian prisoners, who are in prisons of Georgia and South Ossetia, respectively, would be regarded as an important step in the post-conflict settlement.
The Envoy and the Human Rights Commissioner have also applied to the Head of the International Committee of the Red Cross in South Ossetia Leanne Hutchins with the request the above citizens of South Ossetia to be visited in prison by the ICRC representatives.
