Eight arrested in high-profile 2008 murder of Russia-Georgia war servicemember

The Prosecutor General’s Office of Georgia on Friday said eight individuals had been arrested and two declared wanted for abuse of power, illegal detention and premeditated murder in a high-profile case of the 2008 death of Roin Shavadze, a Brigade Sergeant in the Georgian armed forces who had fought in that year’s conflict with Russia. 

The body said it had conducted a “comprehensive investigation” into the case of the death of the servicemember who also served in the peacekeeping mission in Iraq between 2005-2006 and received awards for his service.

The domestic body’s inquiry was conducted following the European Court of Human Rights’ ruling in November 2020, which found claims by the United National Movement Government - in power at the time of the death of Shavadze - on his death having occurred following his attempt to flee lawful detention to have been inconsistent with evidence.

The Office said the new investigation had been supervised by the Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers, and noted the inquiry had revealed Shavadze had been beaten and shot to death by employees of the Department of Constitutional Security on August 16, 2008, two days after his return from service in the five-day war that started on August 7.

It also said the investigation revealed the head of the Department’s offices in the Black Sea city of Batumi - where Shavadze lived - had received instructions to for an “operational study” of details around the servicemember based on a supposed information on his cooperation with a “special service of a foreign state”.  

Following the instructions, Shavadze was first beaten in a public café in the Black Sea city of Batumi by a group of employees of the body, receiving injuries “threatening his life” and causing him to fall unconscious, before being driven to a spot near the Kobuleti-Kakuti highway in the west of the country, where he was shot 40 times and killed.

The Office also said evidence uncovered during the investigation had proved the conclusions of the then-state authorities on the servicemember having been arrested with illegal drugs on him, and having taken a weapon from the arresting group before attempting an escape and shooting in the direction of the Department employees before being shot and killed, to have been used to create a “fake version” of the events leading to his death.

It also said it would ask the court for pretrial detention against all individuals charged with the crime.