The Georgian Foreign Ministry said the death of 48-year-old Georgian citizen Tengiz Togonidze was the result of an “inhumane, xenophobic” and “anti Georgian campaign” in Russia.

Togonidze reportedly died of an asthma attack on October 17 in Domodedovo airport in Moscow before being deported along with 149 other Georgians.

According to the Georgian Foreign Ministry, Togonidze, who was detained on October 3 in St. Petersburg, was not provided with sufficient medical care during his detention.

“Tengiz Togonidze felt ill during the bus trip from St. Petersburg to Moscow, but it did not attract the attention of Russian law enforcers. On arrival at the Moscow international airport of Domodedovo, his health condition worsened fatally to the point when he could no longer be saved,” the Georgian Foreign Ministry said, adding that this tragic fact “once again shows the what the situation in Russia is like for Georgian citizens and ethnic Georgians.”
 
The Georgian Foreign Ministry also said that the majority of Georgian deportees had valid visas.
 
“Law-abiding citizens are captured in their own homes and transferred to detention cells where, in most cases, they are subjected to unbearable, inhumane conditions. These people are denied not only medical care, but also basic necessities and humane treatment in what can be described as a violation of human rights and fundamental freedoms and all applicable international norms and procedures,” the Georgian Foreign Ministry said.
 
The Russian daily Kommersant said on October 18 that the death of Tengiz Togonidze “hit a devastating blow to the remnants of Russia’s prestige” in Georgia.