TSKHINVAL. Sept 6 (Interfax) - A citizen of the United States has been detained in South Ossetia for violating the state border, the press service for South Ossetia's State Security Committee told Interfax on Monday.
"Employees of the Border Guard Service of South Ossetia's State Security Committee detained a person who violated the state border with Georgia outside the settlement of Verkhny Yerman, Dzausky district on August 26. It was established during investigative actions that this person is a citizen of the United States, Jackson Paul Kramer, born on November 9, 1997, a native of South Carolina," the press service said.
According to Kramer, he arrived in Georgia on August 14 to walk a hiking trail along the entire Main Caucasus Ridge, starting from the border with Azerbaijan and finishing on the coast of Abkhazia, via the territory of South Ossetia.
"Speaking about why he crossed the state border between South Ossetia and Georgia illegally, the citizen of the U.S. explained that while in the U.S. and right upon his arrival to Georgia, he was unable to acquire exhaustive information regarding [...] the current international status of the Republic of South Ossetia from official U.S. and Georgian media outlets, as well as various tourist materials," the press service said.
"Jackson Paul Kramer was held administratively liable and expelled and handed over to the Georgian side in accordance with Article 14 of the law 'On the state border' on September 6," it said.