Chief Prosecutor offers meeting to family of recently deceased terrorism suspect

Georgia’s Chief Prosecutor Irakli Shotadze has offered the family of recently deceased terrorism suspect Temirlan Machalikashvili to meet in Tbilisi, at Georgia’s Chief Prosecutor’s Office headquarters.

Shotadze is ready to meet with the deceased suspect’s family with the presence of investigators who are looking into the question of whether or not excessive use of force was applied during his detention on December 26, 2017 as the result of a raid on Georgia’s Muslim-populated region of Pankisi Gorge. 

The Chief Prosecutor’s Office is ready to inform the family about the current stage of the investigation, as the family claims Machalikashvili was mistakenly shot by a special unit serviceman during the operation.

Malkhaz Machalikashvili, father of Temirlan Machalikashvili, who died two weeks after being shot in the head, had demanded the meeting with the chief prosecutor in order to learn about the evidence against his son. 

Malkhaz Machalikashvili claims his son had no links with the Islamic State terrorist Ahmed Chatayev, who blew himself up in Tbilisi during the November 22 counter-terrorism operation on the outskirts of Tbilisi.

• The Prosecutor’s Office released a video shortly after the Pankisi raid which depicts Machalikashvili with Chatayev-affiliated individuals. 
• The family says the video was allegedly recorded two years ago, when Chatayev allies freely walked in Tbilisi and Pankisi.
• The December 26 raid in Pankisi saw four people detained for supporting terrorism and Machalikashvili severely wounded in the head.
• The 19-year-old man died prior to being transported to Turkey for better treatment.