26 days later: Occupied Tskhinvali returns Tatunashvili’s body to family
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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 body was taken out of occupied Tskhinvali by the International Committee of the Red Cross and is being transported to Tbilisi for an autopsy, the Georgian Interior Ministry representative has stated.
After several hours the body will be handed over to the Tatunashvili family in the Tsilkani village,” an Interior Ministry representative told the media.
Tatunashvili and two other Georgian citizens were detained in the occupied Akhalgori area by Russia-controlled border guards on February 22, allegedly for participation in the Russia-Georgia 2008 war.
- Tskhinvali media announced the death of Tatunashvili on February 23, and stated that the latter had an incident with detention facility staff and fell down a flight of stairs.
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However, the de facto security service of Tskhinvali claims the man died due to heart failure.
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Tskhinvali refused to hand over the body to his family and said that they needed time to conduct a "comprehensive autopsy."
- Levan Kutashvili and Ioseb Pavliashvili, who were detained with Tatunashvili, were only able to leave the occupied region on March 11 because their documents had been confiscated.
- The United States, NATO, the European Union, a number of other countries and almost all international organisations had urged Russia and the de-facto leadership to hand over Tatunashvili’s body to his family and allow Kutashvili and Papunashvili to return freely across the occupation line.
- Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili has urged the leadership of the Russian Federation to take joint steps and resolve this "complicated situation”.
- Expressing their sadness over Tatunashvili’s death, the Russian Federation said this issue is far out of the framework of the Russian-Georgian agenda.
- The Patriarchate of Georgia has announced that on the request of the Georgian Patriarch Ilia II Russian Patriarch Kirill has become involved in the body-transfer process.
- On March 19 Parliamentary majority and minority agreed on joint resolution over Archil Tatunashvili’s death
The Secretary General of NATO Jens Stoltenberg highlighted the case of the death of Georgian citizen Archil Tatunashvili in the country’s occupied Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region during his meeting with the Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili in Brussels, Belgium today.
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).
Eleven days have passed since the death of Georgian citizen, 35-year-old soldier Archil Tatunashvili, in unclear circumstances in the occupied Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region.The body has not been handed over to the Tatunashvili family for burial and two other Georgian citizens Levan Kutashvili and Ioseb Pavliashvili, detained with Tatunashvili on February 22, still remain in the occupied region.
The Georgian Foreign Minister Mikheil Janelidze has paid particular attention to the most recent death of Georgian citizen Archil Tatunashvili in the country’s occupied Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region during his meeting with Michael Moller, Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva.
The European Union Monitoring Mission (EUMM) has released a statement over the release of Georgian citizen Archil Tatunashvili’s body from the occupied region of Tskhinvali.
Georgian citizen Archil Tatunashvili, who died in unclear circumstances in occupied Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region on February 23, will be buried in his village cemetery on Saturday.
Tatunashvili’s body was finally returned to his family 26 days after his death as the de-facto Tskhinvali administration had refused to hand it over before an autopsy.
The parliament of Georgia has adopted a joint resolution on the case of Georgian citizen Archil Tatunashvili, who was reported dead in unclear circumstances in occupied Tskhinvali on 23 February. The resolution condemns Russia’s actions in the occupied territories of Georgia, makes a series of demands on Russia and envisages the creation of a sanctions list of individuals who have violated the rights of Georgian citizens in the occupied regions of Georgia.
The European Union (EU) Special Representative for the South Caucasus Toivo Klaar has released a statement on his official Twitter page about the return of Georgian citizen Archil Tatunashvili’s body to his family 26 days after his death in unclear circumstances in occupied Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region.
The funeral of Georgian citizen Archil Tatunashvili, who died in unclear circumstances in occupied Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region a month ago are still underway in his village of Tsilkani in eastern Georgia.
Georgian soldier Archil Tatunashvili, who died in unclear circumstances in occupied Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region a month ago, has been laid to rest with the military honours today. President Giorgi Margvelashvili posthumously awarded Tatunashvili the Order of Honour.
"I think the more time that passes, the more everyone will realize what a great hero Archil Tatunashvili is”, Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili said at today’s government session.
A lawyer from NGO Human Rights Centre has told the media that Archil Tatunashvili, a Georgian citizen killed by Russian-controlled border guards in February, was returned to his family with his bodily organs missing.
The Georgian Public Defender Nino Lomjaria stated at the 6th EU-Georgia Parliamentary Association Committee in Brussels yesterday that impunity in Georgia’s occupied Abkhazia and Tskhinvali regions encourage violence.
The Georgian Justice Ministry is drafting a lawsuit for the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) against Russia over the high-profile Archil Tatunashvili’s case.35-year-old Georgian citizen Archil Tatunashvili died in Georgia’s occupied Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region on February 23 and was returned to his family for burial only about a month later.
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 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 Mtskheta District Court in the east Georgia sent two individuals from the occupied Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region to pre-trial detention in absentia for illegal deprivation of liberty of a Georgian citizen Archil Tatunashvili and support in torturing of him.
The whereabouts of the internal organs missing from the tortured and killed Georgian soldier Archil Tatunashvili have been identified. Karasin says that Tatunashvili’s autopsy was conducted in Vladikavkaz and not in Moscow and that the Vladikavkaz laboratory carried out the investigation to establish the reason of the death of the Georgian soldier.
The representatives of the central government of Georgia have demanded the handover of Archil Tatunashvili’s internal organs at today’s Ergneti Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism meeting with the representatives of the de-facto government of Tskhinvali (South Ossetia).
The Georgian Public Broadcaster (GPB) has reported that they could exclusively obtain the official and final conclusion of the Tbilisi Forensic Bureau in the case of the death of Archil Tatunashvili: a Georgian citizen killed in the occupied Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region in February 2018.
The Georgian Justice Ministry has submitted a suit against Russia to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg. The suit accuses Russia of being responsible for several murders and multiple human rights violations in the occupied regions of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali (South Ossetia).
Interpol has issued a red notice for two individuals charged with the illegal deprivation of liberty of three Georgian citizens in February earlier this year and the murder of one of them, 35-year-old Archil Tatunashvili.
Airbnb has e to remove listings in Georgia’s regions of Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) and Abkhazia, occupied by Russia.
One year has passed since the brutal murder of Georgian citizen and former soldier Archil Tatunashvili by occupying forces in the occupied Tskhinvali region (South Ossetia), whose body was transported to Tbilisi administered territory only after about a month with his internal organs removed and more than 100 injuries on his body.
The body of 29-year-old Georgian citizen Irakli Kvaratskhelia, who died in unclear circumstances in occupied Abkhazia, has been handed over to his relatives on Tbilisi-controlled territory. News of Kvaratskhelia’s death was reported yesterday, however sources fix his death at an earlier date.
Archil Tatunashvili, a former Georgian soldier who was brutally murdered by occupying forces in the occupied Tskhinvali region (South Ossetia) last year, would have turned 36 today. His 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.
Georgian Public Defender Nino Lomjaria says that videos which went viral on October 22, allegedly depicting the beating and abuse of inmates in Georgia’s Russian-occupied Tskhinvali region, once again confirm the severe violations of human rights in the occupied territories.
The body of the 35-year-old Tatunashvili, who died in unclear circumstances in the occupied Tskhinvali region on February 22, 2018 was delivered to the Tbilisi-administered territory 26 days later, with his internal organs removed.
Georgian soldier Archil Tatunashvili, who was brutally murdered by occupying forces in the Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region on February 20, 2018, would have turned 37 today.
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.
Prime Minister of Georgia Irakli Garibashvili paid tribute to Archil Tatunashvili, the country’s national hero and a former soldier, who was brutally murdered by the Russian occupation forces in February 2018.
Tatunashvili would have turned 39 today.