Police find 9 mm cartridges at Bzhania's Sochi home - Abkhazian interior minister
SUKHUM. Dec 4 (Interfax) - Abkhazian interior minister Aslan Kobakhia has dismissed the accusations from representatives of the opposition Amtsakhara party that police in Sochi had arrested one of the leaders of the Bloc of Opposition Forces, Aslan Bzhania, at the request of the Abkhazian authorities.
"If our authorities have any questions for Mr. Bzhania, we will ask him those questions in Abkhazia any time. Under no circumstances must we use security or law enforcement agencies of a neighboring state in order to sort out [domestic] relations. This is ruled out, this is absolute fancy," the minister said at a briefing in Sukhumi on Sunday.
"This morning we asked the Russian Interior Ministry's representative in Abkhazia, Stanislav Apsava, and he formally confirmed to us that Aslan Bzhania had been arrested," the republic's interior minister said.
"According to the data reported to us, during an inspection on the subject of possession of a civilian weapon at Aslan Bzhania's home in Sochi, [police] discovered a black pistol case containing a magazine with cartridges. Based on the conclusion of ballistic forensic experts it was established that the seized items are 9 millimeter caliber cartridges fit for firing shots. Presumably, Mr. Bzhania stored the ammunition illegally. After testifying in connection with this fact on December 3 Aslan Bzhania was released," Kobakhia said.
He also said that his ministry maintained no direct contact with the Sochi police. "So the opposition's claim that the Sochi police fulfilled an order from the Abkhazian authorities has no basis," the Abkhazian interior minister said.
Earlier the opposition Amtsakhara party stated that Bzhania had been arrested by Sochi police on December 3 while trying to cross the Russian-Abkhazian border. After having a conversation with law enforcement officers on Sunday he was let go but had problems returning to Abkhazia again.
Following the politician's arrest the Abkhazian president's press office urged the Amtsakhara party to refrain from making unsubstantiated accusations against the Abkhazian authorities.
"We urge members of the Amtsakhara party's political council to exercise political restraint and wait for official information from the Russian Federation authorities regarding the circumstances and reasons for Bzhania's arrest and to refrain from putting forward various invented theories," the Abkhazian president's press office said in a statement.
Bzhania is a former chairman of Abkhazia's state security service. In 2014 he ran for president but lost to Raul Khadjimba, the current leader of the president. Afterwards he became one of the leaders of the Bloc of Opposition Forces. He periodically criticizes the president's political and economic policies, accusing him of failing to deliver on his election promises, incompetence and the lack of a real development program in Abkhazia.
At the Amtsakhara congress on November 30 Bzhania launched another attack on the president's policies.
The congress' resolution also contained a demand for the president's early resignation.