Occupation and annexation: Georgia's top challenge in 2024, says State Security Service Head

During the presentation of the agency’s annual report, Anri Okhanashvili, the Head of the Georgian State Security Service, on Tuesday provided a detailed overview of the situation in the Russian-occupied regions and illegal actions carried out by the occupying forces.

In his address, Okhanashvili noted that, as in previous years, the Russian occupation forces unlawfully stationed in Georgia’s occupied territories continued to carry out various types and scales of military exercises, along with other destructive activities.

“The European Court of Human Rights thoroughly examined the circumstances of the case and concluded that the Georgian government is undertaking all reasonable and feasible measures at its disposal to protect the rights of people living in the occupied territories and near the occupation line. The Court specifically noted that the individuals recognized as victims in the case, who were detained by the occupation regime, were released from illegal imprisonment as a result of the tireless efforts and intensive negotiations led by the Georgian authorities”, Okhanashvili said.

The Head of the State Security Service emphasised that the agency’s representatives presented a detailed report on the killing of Tamaz Ginturi at the annual human rights conference organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights.

He also noted that in one of the cases, the European Court of Human Rights determined that, despite the impossibility for Georgia's central Government to exercise effective control over the occupied territory of Abkhazia, the official Tbilisi had undertaken all possible and reasonable measures to protect property rights in the occupied region.

“The Service actively worked to secure the release of Georgian citizens held in illegal detention, using every possible mechanism and legal lever in this regard. In 2024, 38 individuals were released from illegal detention in the direction of occupied Abkhazia, and 30 individuals in the direction of the occupied Tskhinvali region. I will also provide the latest data for 2025: as a result of efforts by the Georgian side, 15 individuals were released from illegal detention in the direction of occupied Abkhazia, and 15 individuals in the direction of the occupied Tskhinvali region”, he concluded.