According to the information DRI was provided with, Tskhinvali de-facto court sentenced to two years in prison to Georgian citizen Genadi Bestaev, who was detained in November last year, in the village of Zardiantkari, Gori Municipality. Right after the arrest, the occupation forces reported that the 51-year-old Bestaev has illegally crossed the so-called border and 9 grams of marijuana were seized during the search.

Bestaev's house is located in the village of Zardiantkari, close to the occupation line. He has been detained before by the Russian military for crossing the so-called border.

The Democracy Research Institute believes that in regard to Bestaev’s case, the Georgian authorities didn’t show enough efforts to help its citizen. By ignoring the issue, the agencies and officials in charge of the matter, are leaving the person detained for crossing non-existing border alone with the occupation forces.

The Democracy Research Institute calls on the authorities to make appropriate efforts to release its citizen. No citizen in the country should have the feeling that his/her freedom is not valuable for the state.