On 14 May 2026, the Democracy Research Institute submitted a communication to the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention concerning the case of Akhalgori activist Tamar Mearakishvili. In December 2025, Tamar Mearakishvili was arbitrarily detained by the de facto authorities of South Ossetia and forcibly expelled to territory controlled by Georgia.

The reason for her detention by the de facto authorities of the Republic of South Ossetia was the publication, on 21–22 December 2025, of video appeals on her personal Facebook page requesting meetings with de facto President Alan Gagloev and Parliamentary Speaker Alan Margiev.

 The Georgian activist had for years openly spoken about the acute human rights situation in the region, including restrictions on movement along the Administrative Boundary Line, as well as labour and children’s rights. At the same time, Tamar requested a meeting with the de facto government of South Ossetia; after repeated refusals, the activist announced a one-person protest on 23 December at Theatre Square in Tskhinvali.

On the evening of 22 December, Tamar Mearakishvili was detained in her rented apartment by armed, masked individuals. The de facto authorities brought charges of espionage against her under an article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The basis for the accusation was a public video she had posted on Facebook from the balcony of her residential building. The de facto authorities claimed that, in the video, Mearakishvili had deliberately displayed a strategically significant facility — a mast.

A few days after Mearakishvili’s detention, the de facto president Alan Gagloev, at a specially convened press conference, presented an internationally recognised human rights award as evidence of Mearakishvili’s alleged guilt. The presentation clearly demonstrated the arbitrary and politically motivated nature of her detention.

Tamar Mearakishvili remained in unlawful pre-trial detention until 31 December 2025, during which she was subjected to discriminatory and degrading treatment on ethnic grounds. To protest her unlawful detention, she declared a hunger strike and was transferred to hospital. On 31 December 2025, the civil activist was brought before the Tskhinvali City Court by the de facto security services without prior notice and without the participation of a lawyer, and in hospital clothing. On the basis of the court’s decision, Tamar Mearakishvili was subsequently expelled from the de facto territory of South Ossetia.

The de facto authorities of South Ossetia violated Articles 3, 7, 9, 11, 18 and 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in relation to Tamar Mearakishvili, which cover the right to liberty and security of person, protection from degrading treatment, due legal process, the right to a fair trial, as well as freedom of expression and freedom of thought and conscience.

The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention is a body of the United Nations Human Rights Council, mandated to investigate cases of deprivation of liberty that have been carried out arbitrarily or in violation of international human rights standards. Its mandate includes sending urgent appeals and communications to governments, and, within its regular communications procedure, examining individual complaints.

South Ossetia is recognised by the United Nations and the overwhelming majority of the international community as an integral part of Georgia. The de facto authorities operate outside ordinary legal accountability. The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention is one of the few mechanisms through which such violations can be documented and the issue of accountability of responsible persons can be raised before the international community.

Although Georgia does not exercise control over the territory of South Ossetia, it nevertheless bears obligations towards its citizens under international human rights law. Under Article 2(3) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Georgia is obliged to ensure effective legal remedies in the event of violations of the rights of its citizens.

To date, five months after the unlawful detention and expulsion in de facto South Ossetia, the Georgian authorities have not met with Tamar Mearakishvili in order to examine the circumstances of the case. Nor have any health or social support services been offered to her.