Khorava Street Teenage Murder Case – Analytic Document of Human Rights Center

Human Rights Center prepared an analytic document about the Khorava Street Teenage Murder Case. 

 

With the analytic document Human Rights Center aims to chronologically describe all significant legal or political developments around the Khorava street murder case. The document evaluates mistakes or offences allegedly committed in the course of investigation by the investigative bodies, as well as the political developments which had interrelation with the case; the document reviews the work of the temporary investigative commission of the Parliament of Georgia and its two contradictory conclusions; miscarriages in the justice system, and more. 

HRC defended the interests of the victim family from the first stage of the investigation process – namely HRC represented the interests of Davit Saralidze’s family, one of the adolescents killed in the Khorava Street. Therefore, all provided information was obtained and analyzed by the organization as it was in the key actor of all developments. 

Faulty investigation of the murder case of the two adolescents in Khorava Street in Tbilisi on December 1, 2017 and subsequent public and political events once again demonstrated many problems in the Georgian justice system.

In the fight for justice, as a result of consolidation of the civil society, who supported the principle position of Human Rights Center and the victim, chief prosecutor Irakli Shotadze resigned. Nevertheless, as a result of inadequate assessment of the developments from the side of the Government of Georgia, two years later, regardless the protest of Human Rights Center, the Parliament of Georgia re-elected Irakli Shotadze on the position of the prosecutor general.

Temporary investigative commission was established in the Parliament of Georgia as a result of large-scaled protest demonstrations of the society.

As a result of fight, the State had to start prosecution against many people for participation or concealment of the crime; part of them are already convicted. On its side, the State acknowledged the systemic problem, which cannot be eradicated only with the investigation of one concrete case and it is important to carry out systemic changes to increase independence and transparency of the investigative bodies and to carry out real reform in the Georgian justice system. 

Nowadays, although the initial results of the investigation were significantly changed and many people were convicted for the committed crime, many people are still unpunished for their misconduct in public office. Therefore, in order to ensure real reforms in the system, it is necessary to continue legal proceedings to identify those individuals, whose conduct contained signs of official offence. The purpose of the legal proceedings is not only punishment of those law enforcement officers or officials, who hindered comprehensive and impartial investigation of the case, but it is crucially important for the improvement of the justice system. If similar crimes are left unpunished, the systemic miscarriages will not be eliminated, which hinders the defense of human rights and basic freedoms. The comprehensive investigation shall aim to achieve this goal as it is the positive obligation of the State. 

Human Rights Center calls on the Prosecutor General’s Office of Georgia to ensure launch of the investigation into the activities with alleged signs of official misconduct, namely against the officers of the investigative bodies, who purposefully or with negligence committed an offence as a result of which the evidence in the criminal case was damaged or destroyed. 

Human Rights Center