Public Defender calls on authorities to discuss alternative measures of 5-day quarantine to alleviate additional barriers on movement for the population of occupied Gali

Public Defender issued a statement regarding the tragedy on the Enguri river, calling on the authorities to activate the international leverage to open the crossing point to the entire population.

"On April 7, 2021, rescuers recovered the bodies of 3 people from the Enguri river. According to the available information, they were trying to move from the occupied Gali to the territory controlled by the Georgian government. The Public Defender expresses her deep sorrow over the incident and extends her condolences to the families of the deceased.

As it is known to the public, since February 11, 2021, a certain category of the population (large families, socially vulnerable people, people with disabilities) has been allowed to enter the territory controlled by the central government from occupied Abkhazia through the so-called crossing point on the Enguri bridge. After almost a year of complete restriction of freedom of movement, this decision was a definite relief for our Gali fellow citizens. However, this did not substantially change the dire humanitarian situation, as the possibility of movement affected only a small part of the community. At the same time, it is difficult for people wishing to cross to observe the 5-day mandatory quarantine imposed by the Georgian government on citizens moving from the occupied territories to the controlled territory.

Due to the imposed restrictions, the residents of Abkhazia, at the cost of their own lives, use various detours to reach the territory controlled by Georgia. We would like to remind the public that during 2020, there were also 2 accidents when people tried to enter the territory controlled by the state of Georgia by crossing the Enguri River.

The challenges in terms of freedom of movement are also confirmed by a radical decrease in daily movement statistics on the so-called crossing point on the Enguri Bridge. When the above passage is fully open, about 1400-1500 people enjoy it daily. Today this number has been reduced to 20-30.

It should be noted that for the residents of occupied Gali, the Enguri Bridge is a bridge connecting them to education, medical services, cheaper products, pensions, relatives and other family members and is of vital importance to them.

In view of all the above, the Public Defender calls on the authorities to intensify the use of international leverage to open the crossing point to the entire population of the occupied territories and also to discuss alternative measures of 5-day mandatory quarantine", - reads the statement.