MOSCOW, May 28 (RIA Novosti) – Law enforcement in the Caucasus Republic of Abkhazia are collecting and analyzing information about the recent rallies in the capital Sukhumi to establish potential breaches of the law, the republic’s Interior Ministry said Wednesday.
The ministry said in a statement that prosecutors “have been collecting and analyzing video materials and other proofs of the past events, including with a purpose to assess possible signs of criminal activity (mass disturbances, hooliganism) in the rioters’ actions.”
Crowds of protesters seized administrative buildings in Sukhumi late on Tuesday, following an outbreak of mass rallies. The mob demanded that President Aleksandr Ankvab step down.
Abkhazian security chiefs later issued a joint statement vowing allegiance to the legitimate president, who described the events as “an armed coup attempt.”
Abkhazia broke away from Georgia following an ethnically tinged war in 1992-1993, just after the Soviet collapse. More than a decade later, in 2008, Russia formally recognized the province as an independent state after a brief war with Tbilisi over another disputed Georgian region, South Ossetia. Many Abkhaz citizens have been issued Russian passports.
