Three years passed since the disappearance of Soso Osorauli

On January 27, it was the third year after the capture of the Georgian pilot Soso Osorauli in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Meanwhile, the State of Georgia failed to take effective measures to free Soso Osorauli from detention and bring him back to his homeland. 

On January 27, 2017 two helicopters Ми-24 crash-landed in the province of Northern Kivu of the Democratic Republic of Congo, eastern part of the country. Soso Osorauli was pilot of one of the helicopters. Osorauli was captured by the members of the rebel movement “23rd March”, whose leader is Sultan Makenga. 

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia assigned the collected materials to the prosecutor’s office of Georgia for investigation. In October 2017, the Chief Prosecutor’s Office launched investigation under the Article 144 Part 4 – “e” of the Criminal Code of Georgia, which refers to taking a person hostage. 

Regardless many requests of the Osorauli’s family, they still do not have victim status. It is not known what activities were carried out by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to estimate the whereabouts of Soso Osorauli and to free him. 

HRC calls on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Prosecutor General’s Office to take effective measures to bring Soso Osorauli back to the homeland. The Prosecutor General’s Office shall grant victim status to Soso Osorauli’s family members.

Human Rights Center