Georgia: Tbilisi and Tskhinvali Swap Prisoners

European Union observers in Georgia are confirming the December 2 release of five South Ossetians held captive in the city of Gori. The five men were swapped for a Georgian bus driver, who was detained on November 29 by Russian border guards deployed in the breakaway enclave, said Steve Bird, spokesperson for the European Union Monitoring Missions in Georgia.

The Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs declined to confirm that the swap took place.
Meanwhile, in the South Ossetian capital, Tskhinvali, court hearings began on December 3 for four Georgian teenagers charged with an illegal border-crossing and possession of explosives. Efforts by Georgian and international officials to negotiate the minors' release have so far fallen flat.

Families living in the neighboring Georgian region of Shida Kartli in the past freely crossed the border into South Ossetia to visit relatives or to let cows graze. Russian and South Ossetian border guards are now trying to reinforce what they call an international border between Georgia and breakaway South Ossetia, which Moscow recognizes as an independent state. In October, Russian border guards detained 16 Georgian residents who had crossed into South Ossetia in search of firewood; they were later released.