Opposition Fears MIA is Covering Up Officials Linked to Murder

Officials have already indicated that the murder of Sandro Girgvliani was a result of a dispute between the victim and an officer from the Interior Ministry’s Department of Constitutional Security, which has nothing to do with higher-level officials from the Interior Ministry, as alleged by the opposition and the victim’s family.

Interior Minister Vano Merabishvili said on March 6 that the police arrested four officers from the Interior Ministry’s Department of Constitutional Security on suspicion of killing Sandro Girgvliani.

But Girgvliani’s family, along with opposition parliamentarians, has already stated that the suspects were ordered to kill Girgvliani by higher-level officials from the Interior Ministry, with whom Girgvliani had already disputed with.

On March 6 Police arrested on Gia Alania, Chief of the first unit of the Constitutional Security Department, and three other officers from the same structure.

In video footage disseminated to local television stations by the Interior Ministry’s press office, Gia Alania tells investigators after he was arrested that he met with Girgvliani while the latter was coming out of a cafй in downtown Tbilisi late on January 27. Alania says that he and his colleagues who were accompanying him overheard Girgvliani verbally insult Guram Donadze, Spokesman for the Interior Ministry, which irritated Alania and triggered a dispute between him and Girgvliani.

Guram Donadze, together with Tako Salakaia, wife of Interior Minister Merabishvili, Data Akhalaia, chief of the Constitutional Security Department of the Interior Ministry and Vasil Sanodze, chief of the general inspection of the Interior Ministry, were inside the cafй. A televised report on the Imedi television on February 12 indicated that Girgvliani and his friend Levan Bukhaidze had a dispute with this group of people before leaving the cafй.

Gia Alania continued in his testimony that Girgvliani was “aggressive,” which further escalated the dispute between the two men. Afterwards they decided to leave the scene and continue their conversation in a quieter place and went to Okrokana, on the outskirts of Tbilisi, where a fist-fight erupted, Alania said. The dead body of Girgvliani was found in Okrokana the next morning. Bukhaidze was able to escape.

Opposition MPs from the New Rights and Democratic Front parliamentary faction convened a news conference shortly after the Interior Minister announced the capture of these suspects. They said that the arrest of Interior Ministry officials, who are suspected in murder, “is a good precedent.”

“But the major part of the investigation is still ahead. Not only should those who committed the crime be held responsible, but also those who ordered it,” MP Koba Davitashvili of the Democratic Front parliamentary faction said.

“Vano Merabishvili was forced to acknowledge that he has killers in his Ministry after pressure from society. But this is only the first step. The next step should be an answer to the question of who ordered this crime,” MP Koka Guntsadze of the New Rights said.

Opposition parliamentarians have again called for Merabishvili’s resignation and stated that society should not let the Interior Ministry “cover up” for those high officials who are linked to the murder case.

The mother of Sandro Girgvliani also said after the Interior Minister’s announcement that she is now expecting the arrest of those who masterminded the crime. She said that those people whom her son had a dispute with the night he was killed are behind this murder. But parliamentarians from the ruling National Movement party have downplayed the allegations that the crime was masterminded.

“This demand to capture those who masterminded [this crime] is absolutely groundless, because there is no evidence proving that the crime was commissioned by someone,” MP Nika Gvaramia said.

“This was a spontaneous murder and I can not understand how a spontaneous murder can be ordered by someone,” MP Nino Kalandadze, deputy chairperson of the parliamentary committee for legal issues, said.

Chief of the Constitutional Security Service Data Akhalaia also indicated on March 6 that the murder of Girgvliani was a result of a personal conflict between the victim and his colleague. 

“This was the most important case for us, a matter of our honor. And I want to say that any official, any policeman, who commits a crime, will be punished more severely than any other ordinary citizen. This grave consequence which resulted from a personal conflict should be condemned and punished severely,” Data Akhalaia told reporters.