Authorities release more data surrounding witness’ death

Forensic data, cell phone records and graphic photos showing the injured corpse of a man who died one day after being questioned as a witness in a high-profile criminal case has been released by the Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia.

Shalva Tatukhashvili, 33, went missing a day after he was questioned by Georgian authorities and was later found dead.

A report released today by the Chief Prosecutor’s Office revealed Tatukhashvili died from alcohol and drug-related heart failure about 11pm on March 24.

His death has been surrounded with controversy and was the reason behind the noisy debate in Parliament last week.

At the meeting all sides agreed the witness, who died a week after initially appearing, was under pressure but they could not agree on where the pressure originated.

Tatukhashvili was a former Special Task Force officer with the Interior Ministry’s Department of Constitutional Security (DCS). He was a witness in a criminal case against his former superior, Data Akhalaia, the DCS chief.

Akhalaia is wanted by Georgian police and has been named wanted on Interpol's wanted list. He has been charged with premeditated murder in aggravated circumstances, relating to the so-called Navtlugi bus terminal special operation in Tbilisi where three young men were killed in January 2006.

Tatukhashvili was summoned to the Chief Prosecutor’s Office to be interrogated as a witness on February 24. The Office claimed he provided incriminating testimony against his former superior.

However Irakli Zakareishvili, Akhalaia’s defense lawyer and who now also represented Tatukhashvili’s family, said the witness’ testimony was obtained under "psychological pressure” and "torture”, which eventually resulted in his death.

The Chief Prosecutor’s Office interpreted the lawyer’s opinion as "political speculation” in a statement released today.

The Office’s forensic report issued by Levan Samkharauli of the National Forensic Bureau stated the cause of Tatukhashvili’s death was an "acute respiratory insufficiency developed by alcoholic intoxication upon the effect of psychotropic substances belonging to the benzodiazepine group”.

The report said an examination of Tatukhashvili’s body indicated he died about 11pm on March 23.

"According to a toxico-chemical examination, the blood of the deceased contained 5 percent ethyl alcohol, the amount of ethyl alcohol in urine reached 5 (63 percent). In addition, the following substances of benzodiazepine group were observed in the blood and urine of Shalva Tatukhashvili: diazepam, nordazepam and temazepam,” the report stated.

The Chief Prosecutor’s Office noted the examination was conducted in accordance with the law, within four to six hours of Tatukhashvili’s death. His corpse was photographed by an expert during the inspection of the body.

Photo materials attached to the forensic examination report showed multiple injuries on Tatukhashvili’s body.

According to the forensic examination report, Tatukhashvili sustained many injuries shortly before his death. The analysis showed his left forearm was scratched one to two days before he died, scratches on the first finger of his right palm occurred six to seven days earlier, and scratches on an area of his waist happened one to two days before he died.

In addition, his body showed a bleeding on an area of his waist, which occurred shortly before his death on March 23. He suffered excoriation to both knee joints about one to two days before his death and excoriation on his ankle area, which occurred one to two days prior to death.

The Prosecutor’s Office said the inspection of Tatukhashvili’s body was completed in the presence of the expert, the defence lawyer (Zakareishvili) and Tatukhashvili’s brother-in-law K. Elizbarashvili. Once completed, all parties signed the report stating it had been conducted correctly.

The Prosecutor’s Office added all injuries observed on Tatukhashvili’s body were "mild” and were not connected to his death. The Office stated all injuries were sustained when the witness was alive.

According to the Prosecutor’s Office, Tatukhashvili visited Tbilisi Prosecutor’s Office twice on February 24 and again on March 18. He was found dead at his home by family members on March 23.

"Thus, according to the forensic examination report, the mild injuries observed on the body even theoretically mismatches to the time when he was at the Prosecutor’s Office except for the small injury on the thumb of the right hand. Consequently, it is proved that the officials of the Prosecutor’s Office have not applied torture or any physical violence against Sh. Tatukhashvili,” the Prosecutor’s Office insisted.

Tatukhashvili’s recent phone records were also investigated. The Office argued when Tatukhashvili left the Prosecutor’s Office on March 18, he and his spouse went to Gagarini Square. His cell phone history showed Tatukhashvili phoned the investigator Dznelashvili several times before he died.

Tatukhashvili’s phone records also showed on March 19 at 10:33am and March 23 at 4:29pm, Tatukhashvili phoned the investigator D. Dznelashvili from Teleti Mast.

"The fact that Tatukhashvili contacted Dznelashvili excludes the allegations about the torture of the deceased by the investigation claimed by the defense counsels of the family as well as the family members of Akhalaia,” the Prosecutor’s Office stated, adding that according to Dznelashvili, during the first call Tatukhashvili informed him he was at home, while during the second phone call he arranged a meeting for the following day.

"In addition, the investigation ascertained that on 21 March Sh. Tatukhashvili reported to Teleti Police Station in the vicinity of his residence about the loss of the veteran’s card. Sh. Tatukhashvili was found dead at home by his family members. Therefore, in the light of the foregoing, since 18 March to the time of his death, that is when the injuries were inflicted, the person was at his residence in Teleti,” the Prosecutor’s Office added.

Furthermore, the Office claimed photos released by Tatukhashvili’s family through defense lawyer Zakareishvili via the media were different from the photos taken by experts during the official examination of Tatukhashvili’s body.

As a result, the Office claimed the images released by Zakareishvili "have been taken in a non-professional environment, 4-5 days after the death”.

"Thus, the injuries on the corpse are much sharper in terms of their visual appearance due to the passing of time. The previously mentioned is caused by darkening the cadaver spots on his body. Thus, our Office considers that the release of these photos serves to the political ends,” the Prosecutor’s Office believed.

Now, the Chief Prosecutor’s Office are calling the alternative examination publicized by the defense as "inexplicit”, since the expert concluded his report findings based on photos taken four to five days after Tatukhashvili died.

The Office claimed the report lacked authentic examination and analysis of the corpse, medical documentations and biological materials, where "the forensic examination [was] conducted only on the basis of inspecting medical documentations, a corpse or a person being alive”.