On February 22, 2018, representatives of the occupied Tskhinvali region illegally detained three Georgian citizens — Archil Tatunashvili, Levan Kutashvili, and Ioseb Pavliashvili.

35-year-old Archil Tatunashvili died the next day, on February 23, at a hospital in Tskhinvali.

The de facto authorities claimed the preliminary cause of death was a heart attack. However, according to Georgia’s Public Defender, Tatunashvili had been beaten and died before reaching the hospital.

The so-called South Ossetian authorities refused to hand over his body to the Georgian side, citing the need for an autopsy. This refusal triggered protests — on February 25, members of the civic monitoring movement Strength Is in Unity gathered in Ergneti, denouncing Tatunashvili’s death in Tskhinvali and accusing the occupying forces of killing a Georgian citizen. The victim’s relatives also joined the protest.

Later, the demonstrators moved to the village of Misaktsieli, on the road connecting Georgia and Russia, demanding the rapid return of Tatunashvili’s body. They also called for the presence of Georgian government representatives and transparency about negotiations with the Ossetian side. Protesters tried to block the road, but police prevented it. The next day, however, locals in Tsilkani blocked the main highway near Natakhtari, creating a several-kilometer-long traffic jam. A special police unit was mobilized. The family and protesters insisted that officials arrive at the scene. MP Dimitri Khundadze and Minister of IDPs and Refugees Sozar Subari met with them.

The protesters had three main demands:– To allow Georgian forensic specialists into Tskhinvali for examination;– To return Tatunashvili’s body;– To ensure freedom of movement for Kutashvili and Pavliashvili, who remained in Akhalgori without documents.

The protest ended after the government promised to secure the return of Tatunashvili’s body within two days through negotiations. Kakhaber Kemoklidze, Deputy Head of the Analytical Department at the State Security Service, stated that authorities were working to ensure both the body’s transfer and the safe return of the other two detainees.

However, by March 1, no progress had been reported.

On March 6, Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili announced that Tatunashvili’s body would be handed over by March 12. That same day, a rally was held in Tskhinvali — officially commemorating genocide victims, though many participants called for not returning Tatunashvili’s body to Georgia. Relatives of missing Ossetian soldiers from the 1990s and 2008 wars displayed photos of their disappeared loved ones.

On March 7, a solidarity protest was held in Tbilisi. Organized through social media, the rally’s slogan — “Peace Is Greater Than War” — symbolized resistance to Russia’s so-called “peacekeeping” occupation. Banners read “War Is Not Over.” Protesters laid flowers and lit candles at St. George’s monument on Freedom Square.

On March 11, Levan Kutashvili and Ioseb Pavliashvili crossed from the occupied territory into Georgian-controlled territory.Archil Tatunashvili’s body was finally returned to his family 26 days after his killing, transferred through the Ergneti checkpoint with the help of the Red Cross.