Georgian PM commemorates servicemember tortured, killed by occupation forces
Medical professionals established over 100 injuries on Archil Tatunashvili’s body following the transfer after 26 days from his death in the occupied Tskhinvali region.
Tweet 
Share
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Wednesday commemorated Archil Tatunashvili, a retired servicemember who was tortured and killed by Russian-controlled occupation forces in the country’s occupied Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region on this day in 2018.
Describing Tatunashvili as a “hero of contemporary Georgia”, the head of the Government pledged to hold those responsible for his death accountable, adding his office was doing “its utmost” to achieve the goal.
Tatunashvili is a role model for future generations for his dignity, perseverance and patriotism”, the PM stressed.
The retired Junior Sergeant was detained along with two other Georgian citizens on February 22, 2018 in the occupied Akhalgori area by Russian-controlled de facto “border guards”, allegedly for his service during the 2008 war between Russia and Georgia that mostly took place in the Tskhinvali region.
The de facto authorities announced his death the following day due to “heart-related problems”, with the 35-year-old’s body handed over to Georgian authorities 26 days after his death, following lengthy talks. Medical professionals established over 100 injuries on his body following the transfer.
In September 2018, the Interpol issued a red notice for two individuals, David Gurtsiev and Alik Tabuev, who were charged with Tatunashvili’s murder in absentia. A court in the Georgian city of Mtskheta subsequently sentenced the offenders to life imprisonment in absentia in 2020.
Tatunashvili’s name was also used to draft the Otkhozoria-Tatunashvili List of offenders targeted with sanctions for violations of human rights in Georgia’s occupied regions of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali. The list was supported by the Council of Europe in 2019.
The Georgian prosecutor general’s office on Wednesday said a group of offenders from the country’s Russian-occupied north-western Abkhazia region had been convicted by court in absentia for several crimes committed between 1999-2004, based on the evidence provided by the body.
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.
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.
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.
The European Court of Human Rights on Thursday deemed Georgia’s application against Russia on alleged deterioration of the human rights situation along the administrative boundary line between the Government-controlled territory and its Russian-occupied territories as admissible.
Irakli Kadagishvili, the Chair of the Rules and Procedural Issues Committee of the Parliament of Georgia, on Thursday said the country’s authorities were in “constant legal battle” to ensure human rights protection in the Russian-occupied territories of the country.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Thursday paid “special respect” to the injured soldiers of Georgian armed forces for their “heroism” and thanked them for “their bravery and selfless devotion”, as the Week of Injured Servicemembers launched at the Maro Makashvili Military Servicemember Rehabilitation Centre in Tserovani settlement near the capital Tbilisi.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Thursday commemorated an anniversary of the killing of Archil Tatunashvili, a servicemember who was murdered by Russian occupation forces in central Georgia’s occupied territory in 2018, by saying his name had “become a symbol of dignity and perseverance” for the Georgian public and future generations.