On 9 November, the famous Georgian doctor and traumatologist Vazha Gaprindashvili and three Georgian citizens were detained by the separatist forces of Tskhinvali (South Ossetia). According to the reports by the Georgian media, Gaprindashvili was detained near the village of Orchosani for “illegally crossing the border“. The Georgian media also reported that Gaprindashvili was abducted before being caught by the de-facto Tskhinvali authorities. The three other Georgian citizens were released after their families paid the fee to the de-facto Tskhinvali authorities, while Gaprindashvili was sent to two-month pretrial detention.

The so-called security committee of Georgia's Russian-occupied Tskhinvali region said that Gaprindashvili “actively participated in the Russia-Georgia 2008 war as the “captain of the military medical service of the Georgian Armed Forces“.

Gaprindashvili's wife Tamila Lapanashvili dismissed this information. She said that he worked in a Gudushauri hospital during the war and that he did not leave the hospital for a week and that hospital documentation and staff could confirm that. Shota Bidzinashvili, who was also detained by the separatist forces and spent five days in the same cell with Gaprindashvili, said that the doctor protested the mistreatment of prisoners in Tskhinvali prison and demanded they be given food.

Gaprindashvili’s detention sparked major attention inside and outside of Georgia. Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili called  on the international community “to react with all possible means” in order to ensure Gaprindashvili’s release. Georgian Foreign Minister David Zalkaliani raised the issue with High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini, acting chair of OSCE Miroslav Lajcak, Deputy Secretary General of UN Rosemary DiCarlo and Deputy Secretary General of NATO Mircea Geoana, during the NATO foreign ministerial meeting in Brussels. Georgia’s permanent representative to the United Nations Kakha Imnadze informed the United Nations Security Council about the human rights violations in the separatist region of Tskhinvali, stressing that the Georgian side demands the release of Gaprindashvili at once. On 18 November, doctors all around Georgia rallied to also demand Gaprindashvili’s release.

The US embassy in Georgia also called for the immediate release of Gaprindashvili. Former President of Estonia Toomas Hendrik Ilves made a live address, also demanding Gaprindashvili’s release. The Director for Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Germany Michael Siebert supported Ilves’ initiative. EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus Toivo Klaar expressed his hopes that Gaprindashvili would be released soon. “I don’t suppose prolonged detention of Dr. Gaprindashvili is in anyone’s interests,“ he said. The OSCE Secretary General Thomas Gremminer also expressed his hopes for an early release. “Humanitarian approach to all detention cases is of utmost importance,“ he said.