TSKHINVAL. Dec 30 (Interfax) - South Ossetian President Anatoly Bibilov has signed on Saturday a decree to pardon Georgian citizen Vazha Gaprindashvili, who violated the state border and was convicted for it by a South Ossetian court.
"In accordance with the Paragraph 38 of Article 50 of the Constitution of the Republic of the South Ossetia, while ensuring respect for the principles of humanity, following a personal petition and in light of the assistance provided, I hereby decree that the convicted citizen of the Republic of Georgia, Gaprindashvili Vazha Dzhondoyevich, born 1961, shall be pardoned, thus freeing him from serving his further punishment of imprisonment," the presidential decree published on his official website said.
The decree enters into effect on the date of its signing.
The South Ossetian State Security Committee has released a statement on Saturday announcing that Gaprindashvili is to be handed over to Georgia.
The State Security Committee said that after the sentencing, the Georgian citizen petitioned the South Ossetian president to pardon him, "which is evidence of pleading guilty and expressing remorse."
"Taking into account that the convict's illegal crossing of the border was a first-time occurrence and did not do any considerable damage to the republic's security and being motivated by humanitarian considerations, the president made a decision to pardon V. D. Gaprindashvili and hand him over to Georgia," the committee said.
Gaprindashvili was detained by South Ossetian border guards on November 9. The South Ossetian State Security Service press service said a criminal case on illegal border crossing charges was opened against Gaprindashvili.
Georgian media reported that the doctor had entered the South Ossetian territory to treat a patient.
It emerged on December 20 that a South Ossetian court had sentenced Gaprindashvili to one year and nine months of imprisonment. The Georgian Interior Ministry said it views the sentence as a provocation.
Georgia made extensive international effort to ensure Gaprindashvili's release and return home. Russia's representatives promised to facilitate resolving this issue.