His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia sent a message to the President of the Republic of South Ossetia A. I. Bibilov, which contains a request for pardon of the citizen of Georgia Z. Gakheladze, who is serving a sentence in South Ossetia for violating its state border with the use of firearms against the servicemen of the Border Guard Service of the Republic.
In response to the appeal of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, A. I. Bibilov instructed the relevant competent authorities of the Republic to work out the issue of exchanging a citizen of Georgia Z. Gakheladze for a citizen of South Ossetia V. Gobozov, given the repeated requests of his relatives for help. A citizen of South Ossetia V. Gobozov was abducted by the Georgian special services from the neutral territory of the Russian-Georgian border at the Verkhnii Lars checkpoint and was under arrest.
Taking into account the appeal of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill and guided by humane considerations, the President of the Republic of South Ossetia Anatolii Bibilov signed a decree pardoning the citizen of Georgia G. Gakheladze, thereby showing an act of goodwill towards the repentant violator.
Convicted Z. Gakheladze personally wrote a petition for pardon addressed to the Head of State – President of the Republic of South Ossetia A. I. Bibilov, in which he apologized for his actions and thanked the Ossetian authorities for their humane attitude.
The transfer of the pardoned Georgian citizen will take place today at 18:00 on the South Ossetian-Georgian border, near the village of Ergnet, in the presence of relevant authorities of the Republic of South Ossetia, as well as with the participation of the Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of the Republic of South Ossetia for post-conflict settlement M. K. Dzhioev and the Presidential Ombudsman of the Republic of South Ossetia on human rights I. V. Tasoev.
The day before, the Georgian side handed over to the Ossetian side citizen V. Gobozov, who had already arrived in South Ossetia. At a meeting with the President of the Republic of South Ossetia, V. Gobozov expressed his deep gratitude to Anatolii Bibilov for his release, as well as to everyone who supported him when he was imprisoned.
Tskhinval, 14 of July 2021