The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia has warned its citizens about the security risks in occupied Abkhazia.

According to the Ministry, “citizen of Abkhazia” E.G. Abukhba, who committed a serious crime against a Russian female tourist in 2019, was released from prison on February 2. Abukhba's punishment was eased by the so-called Supreme Court, which has surprised the Russian government.

“In our opinion, this high-profile case indicates the very lenient attitude of Abkhazian justice towards crimes committed on the territory of the republic and the punishments imposed on criminals. Obviously this creates risks for the safety of the large number of foreign guests who come to the resorts of Abkhazia every year, about which we are forced to warn our compatriots,” said the statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia.

In February 2021, the Sukhumi City Court sentenced Edgar Abukhba to 9 years in prison. According to the case materials, in July 2019, Abukhba brought a Russian citizen, a woman born in 1999, to the burned government building complex in Sukhumi, where he beat her, raped her, and then injured her with a stone. He took two phones and jewelry belonging to the woman and hid. Abukhba was found guilty of rape, lewd act, robbery, and grievous bodily harm to a woman. At the time of the crime, Edgar Abukhba was 17 years old.

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