Prosecutor’s Office charges two in high-profile Tatunashvili case
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The Georgian Chief Prosecutor’s office has charged two individuals living in the country’s occupied Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region, for the illegal deprivation of liberty and support in torturing of a Georgian citizen Archil Tatunashvili.
The individuals, employees of the so-called law enforcement agencies of Tskhinvali, David Gurtsiev and Alik Tabuev, were charged in absentia today.
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.