Court in Tskhinvali found a former serviceman of breakaway South Ossetia’s border guard unit guilty of spying in favor of the Georgian side and sentenced him to 16 years in prison.

Temur Gutsmazti was arrested and charged with treason in September, 2008. The breakaway region’s government has claimed that Gutsmazti was providing the Georgian Interior Ministry information of military nature.

Meanwhile, in breakaway Abkhazia a local supreme court found guilty a 40-year-old woman of spying in favor of Georgia and sentenced her to 19 years in prison, according to the Russian media reports. Diana Shedania was arrested in September, 2008.

On August 28 Russia’s North Caucasus Military Court found a former deputy commander of one of the Russia’s military units of North Caucasus Military District, Lt.-Col Mikhail Khachidze, guilty of spying in favor of Georgia and sentenced to six years in prison. Khachidze, according to the court files, was recruited by the Georgian special services in autumn, 2007.