First President’s son asks Prosecutor’s Office access to materials of Gamsakhurdia’s Case
By Tea Mariamidze
Friday, August 11
Tsotne Gamsakhurdia, son of the First President of Georgia Zviad Gamsakhurdia who died in unclear circumstances, has addressed the Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia to recognize him as a victim and grant access to the investigation materials.
Gamsakhurdia says that in case his demands are not met, he will address the European Human Rights Court (ECHR).
The President’s son stated at a special press conference on Thursday that the Prosecutor's Office of Georgia has delayed its investigation into Zviad Gamsakhurdia's case in order not to notify the public about certain details.
“After all internal mechanisms are expired, we will address the European Court, because we cannot find justice in Georgia," said Tsotne Gamsakhurdia.
Gamsakhurdia’s lawyer, Amiran Giguashvili, says that the Chief Prosecutor's Office of Georgia has been investigating the case for 24 years already.
He said that since 2015, when the investigation was renewed, the Prosecutor's Office has not conducted any significant investigative activities since granting the case the status of murder, and despite numerous statements, the Prosecutor's Office refuses to recognize Gamsakhurdia's family members as victims.
“On August 5 we addressed the Prosecutor’s Office with the request to recognize the members of Gamsakhurdia’s family as victims and to let them get acquainted with the case materials; however, we have not received any formal reply,” Giguashvili stressed.
The lawyer added that the practice of the Strasburg Court in such cases is very important, which obliges the state to officially involve the family of the deceased into the investigation and inform them about the case materials.
Giguashvili addressed Chief Prosecutor Irakli Shotadze to timely take proper actions regarding the request of the Gamsakhurdia family, recognize them as victims and let them examine the case materials.
Zviad Gamsakhurdia died in unclear circumstances in the Jikhashkari village in the Samegrelo region of western Georgia on December 31, 1993. A variety of reasons have been speculated as the cause of his death, among them suicide.
Gamsakhurdia was described as a passionate, nationalist, educated and highly cultured person. However, his presidency was followed by ethnic and civil conflicts resulting in massive destruction and an economic crisis in Georgia.
