Interior minister, ex-chief prosecutor summoned to parliament for teenager murder case

Interior Minister Giorgi Gakharia and former Chief Prosecutor Irakli Shotadze arrived in parliament today to answer the questions of a special investigative commission regarding the high-profile murder case of two teenage boys in Tbilisi last year.

Shotadze, who resigned because of the case at the end of May, repeated that his body had done its utmost to investigate the murder.

He had to answer the questions of opposition MPs concerning a former employee of the Chief Prosecutor’s Office, Mirza Subeliani, who has been accused by the father of one of the killed boys of hindering a fair investigation, "as his son and a relative were involved in the brawl.”

Shotadze stated that Subeliani had no motivation to create obstacles for the investigation as his son’s involvement in the murder was not confirmed by investigators.

He said that Subeliani’s decision to quit the post shortly after the murder took place was his "personal decision” and there was "no legal ground” for his dismissal.

However, I would do the same and quit the post to avoid any question marks [as the Chief Prosecutor’s Office was investigating the case]” Shotadze stated.

Boys killed in the fatal incident-David Saralidze (L) and Levan Dadunashvili. 

Subeliani, who was detained about six months after the incident for failing to report the crime, admits to the charge.

 However, he says that he was never interested in creating obstacles for the investigation process.

The opposition asked a question as to whether an investigation will be launched which will clarify Subeliani’s role during the case investigation.

Subeliani has been detained. The investigation is ongoing and it will reveal the truth,” Gakharia said.

Gakharia criticised the commission, which is chaired by the opposition, for summoning only one top investigator out of five to answer questions on the case.

The case has five top investigators and you summoned only one and two other investigators who had no genuine connection to the case, when the Interior Ministry has sent out a list of investigators and all individuals involved in the case,” Gakharia said.

If you continue the investigation this way, the commission itself may need an investigation,” Gakharia said.

• Two, 16-year-old boys were stabbed to death in a school brawl in Tbilisi on December 1, 2017. Davit Saralidze died in hospital due to multiple wounds in his back, while Levan Dadunashvili died immediately. 
• The court has sentenced two teenagers so far. An individual identified as G.B. was sentenced to ten years and six months for the premeditated murder of Dadunashvili while G.J. was sentenced to nine years and nine months for the attempted murder of David Saralidze. 
• Since the court verdict failed to identify the actual killer of David Saralidze, his father Zaza Saralidze started a protest rally in the end of May, demanding the government hold accountable the actual killers.
• The rallies led to the resignation of Chief Prosecutor Irakli Shotadze and the return of the case to the supervision of the Interior Ministry. One individual, a former official of the Chief Prosecutor’s Office, whom Saralidze believes to have hindered the investigation process and helped "other offenders” walk free, was also detained last month.
• The Georgian Dream leadership also allowed for the creation of a parliamentary commission to investigate the case and provide recommendations to appropriate state bodies.