Court sends two charged for Tatunashvili’s case to pre-trial detention in absentia
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The Mtskheta District Court in the east Georgia sent two individuals from the occupied Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region to pre-trial detention in absentia for illegal deprivation of liberty of a Georgian citizen Archil Tatunashvili and support in torturing of him.
The Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia stated that the court shared their motion.
Tatunashvili’s father welcomed the decision but said that it would be better to see the people behind cells.
The individuals, employees of the so-called law enforcement agencies of Tskhinvali, David Gurtsiev and Alik Tabuev, were charged by the Prosecutor's Office of Georgia yesterday in absentia.
The Prosecutor’s Office says that when the two learned about Tatunashvili’s membership in the Georgian Armed Forces during the Russia-Georgia 2008 war, they decided to torture him.
The statement reads that Tatunashvili, who was killed in Tskhinvali on February 23, used to bring in fruit and vegetables in the occupied Akhalgori area with his two companions.
During one of the visits of the occupied territory, Taboev and Gurtsiev kidnapped Tatunashvili and his two friends and handed Tatunashvili, 35, to the members of so-called law enforcement agencies of Tskhinvali.
Tatunashvili was transported to Tskhinvali from Akhalgori, where he was severely tortured, with more than 100 injuries on his body. The torture led to death of Tatunashvili,” the Prosecutor’s Office says.
The charge against the two envisages 9-15 years in prison.
The government of Georgia raises Tatunashvili’s case at all meetings with the representatives of the occupied territories and is demanding the handover of Tatunashvili’s body, to clarify an exact reason of the death.
Tatunashvili’s body was handed over to his family only after about a month from his death with his internal organs cut out.
The results of the autopsy carried out by the Georgia’s National Forensics Bureau shows that 35-year-old soldier Archil Tatunashvili, who died in unclear circumstances in occupied Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region on February 23 2018, sustained more than 100 injuries all over his body while alive.
The body of the 35-year-old Georgian soldier, Archil Tatunashvili, who died in unclear circumstances in the occupied Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region on February 23, has been handed over to representatives of the government of Georgia several minutes ago, 26 days after his death.
The Foreign Ministry of the Russian Federation has responded to Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili’s recent appeal to act jointly to resolve the complicated situation concerning Georgian citizen Archil Tatunashvili’s death in occupied Tskhinvali (South Ossetia).
The two Georgian citizens detained in Georgia’s Russian occupied region of Tskhinvali (South Ossetia), Levan Kutashvili and Ioseb Pavliashvili, have left Akhalgori, a territory currently controlled by Russia.Kutashvili and Pavliashvili were illegally detained on February 22 together with Archil Tatunashvili, who died in unclear circumstances on February 23.
According to official data, 126 Georgian citizens were illegally detained by Russia-controlled border guards last year at the Georgia-breakaway Tskhinvali occupation line. In most cases detainees are released after paying a fine which amounts to about $30.
Archil Tatunashvili, a former Georgian soldier who was brutally murdered by occupying forces in the occupied Tskhinvali region (South Ossetia) last year, would have turned 36 today. His body was transported to the Tbilisi administered territory only after about a month with his internal organs removed and more than 100 injuries on his body.
Georgian Public Defender Nino Lomjaria says that videos which went viral on October 22, allegedly depicting the beating and abuse of inmates in Georgia’s Russian-occupied Tskhinvali region, once again confirm the severe violations of human rights in the occupied territories.
Georgian soldier Archil Tatunashvili, who was brutally murdered by occupying forces in the Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region on February 20, 2018, would have turned 37 today.
Mtskheta District Court has sentenced two individuals - David Gurtsiev and Alik Tabuev - to life imprisonment for the illegal deprivation of liberty and their role in the torture of Georgian citizen Archil Tatunashvili back in 2018.