A 25-year-old Georgian citizen Kristine Takalandze, who was charged with “spying for Georgia’s special services” by Russian-occupied Abkhazia’s so-called prosecutor’s office, was sentenced to 10 years and 6 months in prison.
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The so-called Supreme Court presided over by Judge Beslan Berulava, announced the verdict today. The sentence count starts from the date of the woman’s arrest, July 20, 2022.
Kristine Takalandze was born in Zugdidi but lived in the village Nabakevi of the Gali region with her father. Her arrest was announced on July 2022 by the de-facto State Security Service.
It was stated in the statement that Takalandze acted “under the instructions of foreign intelligence, with a motive dictated by the interests of the Georgian special services” and carried out a “criminal intent” aimed at obtaining, collecting, and transferring state, military or other secret information to the Georgian special services. According to the so-called security service, this information could have been used to the detriment of Abkhazia's external security, constitutional order, and sovereignty.
The de-facto government also published a video where detained woman’s belongings were being searched. Along with the identity card of a Georgian citizen, bank and pharmacy cards, a small piece of paper with Georgian writing appeared in the footage – “If you go somewhere, to Gali or Zugdidi, bring me this medicine.”
Kristine Takalandze pleads not guilty to spying charges.
The Georgian government has not responded to the verdict of the de-facto court yet.
Another Georgian citizen is serving a lengthy illegal prison time in the occupied Abkhazia – Irakli Bebua, who was arrested for burning the Abkhazia flag on September 30, 2020, in the Gali region. He was prosecuted on three counts of the so-called criminal code, including the desecration of a national flag, for which he was given a 9-year sentence in December 2020. According to available information, Irakli Bebua's health condition is deteriorating due to aggravated chronic diseases and a lack of proper medical care.
