Lawyer says Tatunashvili’s organs were removed
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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.
Lawyer Tamar Avaliani, who accompanied Tatunashvili’s father to the Mtskheta Prosecutor’s Regional Department, told the media on Monday that the Tatunashvili family has addressed the Georgian government to demand the de facto leadership of Tskhinvali to transfer the organs and accompanying medical documentation.
Otherwise it will be difficult for the investigation [being conducted in Tbilisi] to clarify the exact reason of death,” Avaliani told the media after spending nine hours in the prosecutor’s office.
Local Tskhinvali media reported that Tatunashvili had a clash with prison guards.
Tatunashvili, a 35-year-old Georgian soldier, was illegally kidnapped by Russian-controlled border guards stationed in Tskhinvali on February 22 and died the next day.
Local Tskhinvali media reported that Tatunashvili was detained for his participation in the Russia-Georgia 2008 war. However, Tatunashvili was serving at that time in a peace mission in Iraq.
Georgian officials and the family stated that the body returned after about a month and displayed signs of torture;Tatunashvili’s index finger on the right hand had been cut off.
Learn additional details about the high-profile case which has triggered international outcry here.
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.
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.
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 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 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 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).
Today Georgia marks the birthday of national hero Archil Tatunashvili, a former soldier, who was tortured and killed by the Russian-controlled occupation forces back in 2018 in the country’s occupied Tskhinvali region. Tatunashvili would have turned 38 today. The body of 35-year-old Tatunashvili was handed over to Tbilisi 26 days after his death with more than 100 injuries.