Mearakishvili refused to eat in police custody

Activist Tamara Mearakishvili was found in a Ministry of Internal Affairs detention center after disappearing from her apartment in Tskhinvali, where she refused to eat. She is suspected of espionage, and her detention has attracted the attention of Tbilisi.

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," on December 22, the South Ossetian Prosecutor General's Office announced that a criminal case for espionage had been opened against a Georgian citizen. According to security officials, she collected and transmitted information about strategically important sites while in South Ossetia.

Mearakishvili refused food in the Ministry of Internal Affairs detention center

Tamara Mearakishvili is being held in the temporary detention center of the South Ossetian Ministry of Internal Affairs, her lawyer, Alan Bazzaev, told a Caucasian Knot correspondent today. "She is in good condition, but refuses to eat." "As she planned yesterday, as far as I know," he said.

I advised her to refuse to testify.

According to her lawyer, Mearakishvili was questioned by prosecutors today. "I advised her to refuse to testify at this stage. The court will likely choose a preventive measure tomorrow, and I will know more about the case materials," Bazzaev said.

Tamara Mearakishvili's acquaintance, Alan Kulumbegov, who was in her apartment at the time of her arrest, was also detained. Kulumbegov's interests are also represented by lawyer Alan Bazzaev.

The detention of a Georgian citizen has attracted the attention of Tbilisi

The report of the detention of a suspected spy referred to Georgian citizen Tamara Mearakishvili, the Georgian State Security Service confirmed today.

"Today, a hotline from Tskhinvali confirmed the illegal detention of Georgian citizen Tamar Mearakishvili, a permanent resident of the occupied territory; intensive communication is underway regarding this matter," the Georgian news agency Interpressnews quotes the SSS statement as saying.

They used it in propaganda events to promote Georgia's interests.

In turn, the State Security Committee of South Ossetia reported today on its website that on December 22, "as a result of an operational investigation carried out by the State Security Committee with the assistance of the Ministry of Internal Affairs," a resident of Leningor was detained, "suspected of transmitting information to foreign media outlets affiliated with Georgian special services, which used it in propaganda events to promote the interests of Georgia and its Western partners."

"A criminal case has been opened against the detained woman by the Prosecutor General's Office of the Republic of South Ossetia." "A criminal case is underway, within the framework of which the necessary investigative actions are being carried out to establish the suspect's accomplices and connections in the Republic of South Ossetia," the department reported, without naming the detainee.

As a reminder, Tamara Mearakishvili went on a hunger strike in February 2024, demanding that the Prosecutor General of South Ossetia explain the decision to appoint David Gurtsiev, who had prosecuted her in a criminal libel case, as Leningor District Prosecutor. Three days later, Mearakishvili ended her protest, failing to achieve a reversal of Gurtsiev's appointment.