Amnesty International: Russia, de-facto authorities must investigate Tatunashvili’s death, return body to family
Tweet 
Share
Amnesty International has issued a statement concerning the death of Georgian citizen Archil Tatunashvili in Georgia’s Russian occupied region of Tskhinvali (South Ossetia).
Russia and the de facto authorities in Georgia’s disputed South Ossetia/Tskhinvali Region must ensure a thorough, prompt and impartial investigation into the death of Georgian detainee, Archil Tatunashvili; and his body should be returned to his family as soon as possible", the statement reads.
Twelve days have passed since the death of Tatunashvili, aged 35, in unclear circumstances in the occupied Tskhinvali region.
The body has not been handed over to his family for burial and two other Georgian citizens Levan Kutashvili and Ioseb Pavliashvili, detained with Tatunashvili on February 22, still remain in the occupied region.
People gathered at the Freedom Square in the centre of Tbilisi on Sunday to condemn death of Georgian citizen Archil Tatunashvili. Photo by Mzia Saganelidze/RFERL
According to Amnesty International, "It is a fundamental rule of international human rights law that no-one may be arbitrarily deprived of his or her life.”
Moreover, the organization said that under international standards, "a death of any type in custody should be regarded as prima facie a summary or arbitrary execution and there should be a thorough, prompt and impartial investigation to confirm or rebut the presumption.”
A failure to respect the duty to effectively investigate Archil Tatunashvili’s death would itself amount to a breach of the right to life. Families of the deceased have rights under international law and standards", the organization said.
Stressing that the family should be entitled to have a representative present during the autopsy, Amnesty International urged that upon completion of the necessary investigative procedures, the body should be returned to the family, allowing them to hold funeral rites for the deceased according to their beliefs.
Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili once again reiterated today that everything is being done to return Tatunashvili’s body to his family by the end of the week and ensure that the two other men detained with him also return safely to their homes on Tbilisi-administered territory.
Eleven days have passed since the death of Georgian citizen, 35-year-old soldier Archil Tatunashvili, in unclear circumstances in the occupied Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region.The body has not been handed over to the Tatunashvili family for burial and two other Georgian citizens Levan Kutashvili and Ioseb Pavliashvili, detained with Tatunashvili on February 22, still remain in the occupied region.
Georgia’s prime minister has said the body of Georgian citizen Archil Tatunashvili, who died in the Russian-occupied Tskhinvali, will be buried on home soil. In a statement released Sunday, Giorgi Kvirikashvili said it was a tragedy that the family could not mourn the loss of their loved one.
The Georgian Parliament Speaker Irakli Kobakhidze has stated at a conference in Moldova that Russia’s open or silence consent to violation of human rights leads to deaths of Georgian citizens in the occupied regions of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) of Georgia.
The Georgian Foreign Minister Mikheil Janelidze has addressed the recent death of Georgian citizen Artchil Tatunashvili in the Tskhinvali region, as well as the previous murder of Giga Otkhozoria in the occupied regions from the UN high tribune.
The co-chairs of the Geneva International Discussions have expressed their concern over the death of Georgian citizen Archil Tatunashvili under unclear circumstances in Georgia’s Russian occupied region of Tskhinvali.
Thirteen days after Tatunashvili’s death, his body has not been handed over to his family for burial and two other Georgian citizens Levan Kutashvili and Ioseb Pavliashvili, detained with Tatunashvili on February 22, still remain in the occupied region.
The Polish Foreign Ministry has demanded an objective account of the death of Georgian citizen Archil Tatunashvili in the Russian occupied region of Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) and accountability for the perpetrators of the crime.
The President of the European Council Donald Tusk has expressed his concern over the death of Georgian citizen Archil Tatunashvili and the detention of two others in Georgia’s Russian occupied region of Tskhinvali (South Ossetia).
"I urge the leadership of the Russian Federation to take joint steps and resolve this complicated situation”, Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili has said. This August marks the 10th anniversary since the war of 2008, which according to PM Kvirikashvili "has left a tremendous mark on the Georgian people’s minds and Georgia-Russia relations”.
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.
EU Ambassador to Georgia Janos Herman has written on his official Twitter account that the Georgian PM Giorgi Kvirikashvili’s address to Russia to act jointly to resolve the complicated situation concerning Archil Tatunashvili’s death came at a challenging moment and argued for sensible steps.
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.
Amnesty International, a London-based non-governmental organisation focused on human rights, says that the reform of the country’s criminal justice system, including the creation of an independent mechanism to investigate alleged human rights violations by police, should be the top priority of Georgia’s new government.
Amnesty International says that the attempts to physically demarcate a boundary between Georgia’s occupied regions of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) and the rest of Georgia by Russia and the regions’ de facto authorities have led to severe human rights violations.
Russia and the de facto authorities of the Georgian occupied Abkhazia and Tskhinvali regions continue to restrict freedom of movement with the rest of Georgia, negatively impacting the economic and other rights of locals, Amnesty International’s annual 2019 report for Eastern Europe and Central Asia says.