The Minister of Internal Affairs Vano Merabishvili grants medal to person suspected of killing two people

The Minister of Internal Affairs Vano Merabishvili grants medal to person suspected of killing two people

Today, the Human Rights Information and Documentation Centre has held a press-conference on the topic - "Vano Merabishvili grants medal to person suspected of killing two people".

The day before the "Rose Revolution", on the 22nd of November 2003, Davit Sakvarelidze and Ether Tsuliashvili had died due to a car accident in Kvemo Ponichala. A special vehicle “GTR” #004 of the "D" Section from the Special Operations Centre of the Urgent Action Department of the Ministry of Security, which was driven by Avtandil Mamaladze, the driver-mechanic of the armour-technique group of the above mentioned section, crashed into the car of the two above mentioned people. Mamaladze was driving against the direction of traffic.

On the 23d of November, 2003 a criminal case was started at the Tbilisi Department of Investigations of the Ministry of Internal Affairs on the fact of the car accident, a crime described in the fifth part of Article #276 of the Criminal Code.

On the 27th of November 2003, the above mentioned case was transferred to the jurisdiction of the Tbilisi District Military Prosecutor's Office.

According to a statement of the 19th of April 2004 of the General Prosecutor of Georgia, on the grounds of the "L" clause of the 2nd part of Article #56 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Georgia, the Department of Investigations of the Ministry of Security was instructed to start investigation on the case and to give it a new registration number. "The frequency with which the case has been passing from one official and institution to another and the involvement of new investigators in the case creates the suspicion that the affair is being deliberately delayed"- says advocate Davit Managadze, and blames the law enforcements organs of indifference towards their professional duties.

Despite of the authentic evidence, the investigation of the case is delayed at the moment and there is a danger that the case will be closed once again.

The aggrieved person, Mariam Sakvarelidze, is categorically demanding the punishment of the suspect who was responsible for the deaths of her son and sister. "Unfortunately, two years after the crash, on 18th of November 2005, I have heard from the mass media that the Minister of Internal Affairs Vano Merabishvili, had granted the killer of my son and sister with a medal for winning in a sports competition; and I suppose that by winning this competition they have symbolically meant to have won the battle with me" - says the aggrieved person Mariam Sakvarelidze.

The Human Rights Information and Documentation Centre expresses its concern regarding the delay of the investigation and calls civil society and the corresponding state structures to react.