Abkhazia Opposition Activists Released Amid Protests

Gari Kokaia, Ramaz Jopua, and Omar Smiri are three of the five Abkhazian activists who were detained on November 11 following protests in Sukhumi.

Authorities in Georgia's Moscow-backed breakaway region of Abkhazia on November 12 released five opposition activists after protesters blocked all three access bridges into the capital, Sukhumi and a major highway.

The five -- Omar Smiri, Gari Kokaia, Almaskhan Ardzinba, Ramaz Jopua, and Aslan Gvaramia -- who were protesting the authorities' awarding major construction contracts to Russian companies, had been detained on November 11 following a skirmish with lawmaker Almas Akaba outside the regional assembly in Sukhumi.

The incident was recorded and posted on Telegram channels. General Prosecutor Adgur Agrba said the five were detained after they "committed illegal acts against a lawmaker in the backyard of the assembly building following an extraordinary session."

The five were accused of petty hooliganism, but the Sukhumi court stopped the proceedings against them due to the absence of an administrative offense, according to a report by journalist Eleonora Giloyan.

Aslan Bartsits, the leader of opposition party People's Unity Forum, said the activists were protesting the recently signed Investment Activity Agreement between Russia and Abkhazia, which gives Russian firms the right to invest in construction projects in the separatist region.

Telegram channel Baza, which has ties to Russia's security services, said the agreement regards the building of multifunctional complexes in Abkhazia.

News of the detention of the five, who were taken to the building of the local security service, spread rapidly on social media late on November 11, with protesters gathering outside the building and trying to ram the gates with a car before moving to the capital's Freedom Square.

All the three access bridges into Sukhumi -- Gumisti, Lower Gumisti, and Kodori -- and a highway were also blocked early in the morning by protesters demanding the activists' release.

It was not immediately clear if the protesters opened access to the bridges and the highway after the five were released. Kodori Bridge was temporarily reopened earlier in the day before being closed again by protesters, while protesters were allowing the access of public transport on Gumisti Bridge.

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Telegram channels posted videos purporting to show scuffles between security forces and protesters on Kodori Bridge.

The region's health minister, Eduard Butba, claimed in a statement that ambulances "cannot freely travel to their destinations" and medical institutions had been switched to emergency mode.

Abkhazia's official news agency, Apsnipress, reported that the region's leader, Aslan Bzhania, whose residence was protected by the military, called a security council meeting due to the "situation caused by the illegal blocking of the republic's highway."

Abkhazia and South Ossetia broke away from Georgia's rule after the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s.

Moscow recognized the independence of the two regions after Russian forces repelled a Georgian attempt to retake South Ossetia in a five-day war in the summer of 2008 that ended with Georgia's defeat.

Most countries still recognize Abkhazia as part of Georgia.

The Abkhazian opposition is against the construction agreement with Russia and is planning a protest on November 15, the day of the ratification of the agreement.