Autopsy Carried Out, 1st Details of Death of Georgian Man in Occupied Abkhazia Known
By Gvantsa Gabekhadze
Friday, March 15
An autopsy has been carried out of the body of 29-year-old Irakli Kvaratskhelia, who was found hanging in an interrogation room in the Georgian occupied Abkhazia region on March 10.
The corpse was transported to the central Georgian government late on March 13, a day after the European Union Monitoring Mission informed the Georgian State Security Service regarding the incident.
De facto authorities push forward with the version of suicide, which was “also confirmed” by the autopsy they had carried out.
Expert Irakli Toidze, who was doing post-mortem examination more than five hours in the Tbilisi Forensic Bureau, says that obvious wounds are to the throat.
He says that the laboratory studies must now say whether the wounds were inflicted when the man was alive or after death.
“Actually, no other wounds have been found on the body,” he said.
The central Georgian government has called the incident “alarming” and has informed the international community regarding the fatality of the case.
“An autopsy and other investigations should provide the cause of death. However, the fact that the incident took place during the illegal detention is already alarming,” Reconciliation Minister Ketevan Tsikhelashvili says.
Many of the opposition members stated that “naming suicide as the cause of death is unconvincing”
They urged the government to take “tough measures” if it is confirmed that Kvaratskhelia was tortured and killed as locals claim this.
Several of the locals told the media that Kvaratskhelia had a verbal dispute with so-called guards at the occupation line between Georgia and the Russia-controlled Abkhazia region and he was brutally beaten.
However, none of those who stated this are witnesses.
Kvaratskhelia has no parents. As it is reported he has a wife and a child who live in the Tbilisi-administered territory.
De facto authorities claim that Kvaratskhelia was detained on March 10 “when he tried to illegally enter Abkhazia,” and he was found hanging in the interrogation room where he was left for a while to write an explanatory note.
