Georgia’s temporary attorney was summoned to the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry after the Batumi City Court convicted two Ukrainians accused of illegally crossing the Georgian state border. This was reported by the press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Citizens of Ukraine Yuriy Khomych and Volodymyr Dyachenko were detained on a yacht off the coast of Georgia in November 2020. On July 14, a court in Batumi sentenced them to four years in prison.
“The ambassador was disappointed with the decision of the Batumi City Court, which the Ukrainian side considers unfair and does not correspond to the spirit of friendship and strategic partnership between Ukraine and Georgia. Without interfering in the judicial process in Georgia, we call on the Georgian side to reconsider the decision of the Batumi City Court and immediately release the citizens of Ukraine,” an official representative of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said on Friday.
He added that in the future, citizens of Ukraine “will exercise their right to file an appeal in accordance with Georgian law.” In turn, the Foreign Ministry will take “all necessary measures” to protect their legitimate rights and interests.
The yacht, on board which were Odessa sailors Dyachenko and Khomich, belongs to Georgian citizen Mykhailo Baturyn. He worked under Mikheil Saakashvili’s bodyguard when he was president of Georgia.
According to Saakashvili, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky discussed the issues of Dyachenko and Khomych during a meeting with his counterpart Salome Zurabishvili in Kyiv on June 23.
On July 19, Zelensky will also meet with Zurabishvili, but this time in Batumi, on the sidelines of an international conference.