Court sentences 2 to lifetime imprisonment in high-profile Tatunashvili case

The body of the 35-year-old Georgian soldier, Archil Tatunashvili, who died in unclear circumstances in the occupied Tskhinvali in 2018, was handed over to representatives of the government of Georgia 26 days after his death. Photo: VOA

Agenda.ge, 16 Dec 2020 - 22:41, Tbilisi,Georgia

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.

Gurtsiev and Tabuev, living in the Russian-occupied Georgian region of Tskhinvali (South Ossetia), are the employees of the so-called law enforcement agencies of the occupied region. 

35-year-old Georgian citizen Archil Tatunashvili died in unclear circumstances in occupied Tskhinvali in  February, 2018 after being illegally detained by occupying forces in the Akhalgori district.

The Chief Prosecutor's Office then reported that Gurtsiev and Tabuev decided to torture him after they learned that Tatunashvili had served at the Georgian Armed Forces during the Russia-Georgia 2008 war. 

Tatunashvili’s 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.

The Georgian Justice Ministry drafted a lawsuit for the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) against Russia over the high-profile Archil Tatunashvili’s case.