Zaza Gakheladze, a resident of the village of Kvemo Chala in the Kaspi municipality, was shot in the leg with a firearm and detained by representatives of the occupation forces on July 11, 2020, near the area of Skhvilo Fortress. According to the de facto authorities, Gakheladze fired at a military serviceman. However, later, during the court hearing, one of the witnesses stated that Zaza Gakheladze had not aimed at the soldier when he fired.

Khvicha Mgebriashvili had also been taken to Tskhinvali. He was detained by representatives of the occupation forces on July 3 near the area of the village of Adzvistavi and was placed in a quarantine zone in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19. His quarantine period was set to expire on July 17.

Soon after, on July 13, civic activists held a protest rally in the village of Ergneti, near the occupation line. They demanded the release of Zaza Gakheladze and Khvicha Mgebriashvili. “No to occupation”; “Freedom for Khvicha Mgebriashvili and Zaza Gakheladze”; “Stop Russia” — read the banners held by the protesters gathered in the center of the village of Ergneti.

The rally did not produce results. The Tskhinvali court sentenced Zaza Gakheladze to 12 years and 6 months in prison. Activists protested again, this time in Tbilisi, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. On February 5, 2021, they called on the authorities to take effective steps to secure Zaza Gakheladze’s release. According to the activists, the government was not doing enough to free the detainees and was, for example, not using international leverage. During the rally, at one point, police and activists clashed. Law enforcement officers attempted to detain one of the participants, but the others did not allow it.

That same evening, February 5, members of Zaza Gakheladze’s family blocked the central highway near the village of Agaiani. “Help us free Zaza Gakheladze,” they demanded. They also called on the Georgian government to be more active in securing the release of illegally detained prisoners held in prisons in the occupied region.

Another protest was held on February 13. The anti-occupation movement “Strength Is in Unity” gathered near Skhvilo Fortress, the place where Zaza Gakheladze had been detained. Activists from Kaspi and Gori participated together with activists who had traveled from Tbilisi.

Zaza Gakheladze was released on July 14, 2021. The occupation regime’s agency released a statement with a comment from the de facto president of the occupied region, Anatoly Bibilov, according to which Gakheladze was released at the request of Russian Patriarch Kirill. A few weeks earlier, the Georgian Patriarch Ilia II had written to Kirill, asking for assistance in securing Gakheladze’s release.