South Ossetia will only release Georgian national's body after forensic examination

“Tatunashvili’s relatives should be given his body so that they can bury him. This incident has a negative impact on the Geneva Discussions [on settlement of the Georgian-Ossetian and Georgian-Abkhazian conflicts],” South Ossetia’s RES news agency cited Toivo Klaar, Co-chair and designated EU Special Representative while visiting South Ossetia on 7 March 2018.

The President of South Ossetia Anatoly Bibilov pointed out at a meeting with the Co-chairs of the Geneva Discussions that the issue of releasing Tatunashvili’s body was ‘overly politicized’. He said that Tatunashvili’s body could be handed over to his family only after forensic examination has been performed.

“In Georgia … it takes as least a month to conduct such a forensic examination. We aren’t saying that Tatunashvili’s body shouldn’t be released to his family, though a certain part of our society holds to this stance. After all, 150 people are regarded as missing in our country, and their relatives are unaware of their fate. However, we aren’t politicizing this issue,” President Bibilov stated at the meeting.

“We fear that if the body is released without any forensic examination, it will have more negative implications,” the President stressed. “Let us do everything as prescribed by the law.”

Co-chairs from the UN, OSCE and the EU arrived in South Ossetia on 7 March to discuss preparations for the next round of Geneva International Discussions on Security and Stability in the South Caucasus with South Ossetia.

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