The number of Ukrainians being kept in a basement by Georgian authorities at the Upper Lars checkpoint at the Russian border has increased to 90, according to Volunteers Tbilisi, a human rights group which offers assistance to Ukrainian refugees.
The group described the situation as a ‘humanitarian disaster’.
‘The room has only 17 beds, the temperature is almost 40°C, there is no fresh air. People are taken to the toilet one at a time, under escort. Some have been there for a month and a half. The food is running out. One person was taken away by ambulance’, Volunteers Tbilisi wrote on Telegram on Wednesday.
When the story first broke in June, the Russian independent media outlet Novaya Gazeta Europe also reported that those being held in the basement include both former Ukrainian prisoners of war removed from Russian-occupied territories in Ukraine and civilians deported by the Russian authorities.
The volunteer group said in June that those being held on the Georgian side of the border at the Upper Lars border checkpoint could not return to Russia — they have been officially banned from entry — and were not being allowed into Georgia due to not having any passports or formal identity documents.
‘Previously, entry into Georgia was possible — now these people remain in isolation, without documents or assistance. Georgia does not provide medical aid, the bank account of Volunteers Tbilisi has been blocked, and assistance is only being provided by volunteers. When the border opens, these people will have nowhere to go’, the volunteers said in an official statement at the time.
Since then, Georgian authorities have commented on the situation, with Deputy Interior Minister Aleksandre Darakhvelidze confirming on Wednesday that they could not enter the country.
‘After studying their issue, it became clear that they have committed crimes. Among them, quite serious and particularly serious crimes. Therefore, these persons are not allowed to enter the border of the country’, Darakhvelidze said.
He added that ‘negotiations are actively underway between the Ukrainian side and the Republic of Moldova, since it is possible to return these individuals via a land border’.
‘Recently, around 40 individuals have already returned to Ukraine through this route. However, the process has somewhat stalled lately. As we understand it — and as the Ukrainian side also states — the Moldovan side is opposed to allowing these individuals to pass through’, Darakhvelidze said.
‘Once an agreement is reached on their part, Georgia is ready to take responsibility and assist the Ukrainian citizens currently at the [border] in returning to their homeland’.
Luka Paatashvili, Deputy Head of the ‘Dariali’ Border and Immigration Control Service, elaborated on the subject in an interview with Rustavi 2 on Wednesday.
‘Recently, there has been an increase in attempts by Ukrainian nationals to cross the Georgian border. However, these individuals are not tourists. The majority of them have been convicted of particularly serious crimes, such as murder, attempted murder, rape, and drug-related offenses — specifically drug trafficking. Accordingly, these individuals do not possess the required documentation for crossing the border, and their entry into the country poses a direct risk of further criminal activity’.
Paatashvili further claimed that ‘At this stage, their conditions are normal, and they are waiting. Whether they are actually Ukrainian citizens is still unconfirmed, as they lack the necessary documents’.
OC Media has reached out to the Interior Ministry to comment on the allegations of poor conditions, as well as to what the government’s plans are regarding the group of individuals, but has not received an answer.
Mikheil Gvadzabia
