Eight Arrested in Connection with Sgt. Roin Shavadze’s 2008 Homicide Case
On July 28, the Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia reported that eight people were arrested, and two search warrants were issued on charges of unlawful detention and intentional homicide of Sgt. Roin Shavadze, and abuse of authority related to this case.
The court has ordered pre-trial detention for six special forces representatives, the former investigator of the case, and the former head of the Department of Constitutional Security in Adjara, along with the former deputy head of the same department.
The prosecution’s case is based on several articles of the Criminal Code of Georgia: Article 109 (murder under aggravating circumstances), Part 2, Subsections “b” (of a minor or a helpless person knowingly by the offender) and “e” (by more than one person); Article 147, Part 3 (intentional illegal detention or arrest, which has resulted into grave consequences); Article 333 (exceeding official powers), part 3, sub-paragraphs “b” (using violence or a weapon) and “c” (by offending the personal dignity of the victim).
Judge Ketevan Jachvadze of the Tbilisi City Court sentenced all eight persons arrested in the murder case of Sergeant Roin Shavadze to two months of pretrial detention as a preventive measure. Two additional defendants, currently wanted, were sentenced to imprisonment in absentia. None of the detainees admit to the charges. The next court session is scheduled for September 18.
The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) decided on “Shavadze vs. Georgia” on November 19, 2020. The Court found a violation of the substantive and procedural aspects of Article 2 of the European Convention, which guarantees the right to life. ECtHR further spoke of “the lack of independence and impartiality of the initial investigation” and added that “the criminal investigation into the death of the applicant’s husband has been ineffective and in breach of the respondent State’s procedural obligations under Article 2 of the Convention.”
Sergeant Roin Shavadze was a brigade sergeant in the Georgian Ministry of Defense. He participated in a peacekeeping mission in Iraq as part of coalition forces in 2005-2006, during which he received a medal for exemplary service. He also fought in the August War of 2008. On August 16, 2008, Georgian security forces arrested Roin Shavadze in the streets of Batumi, Adjarian capital. Eyewitnesses report seeing the security officers beating him and calling him “a traitor of this country”, before they put him in a police van. Six hours later, a police officer notified Shavadze’s wife of the death of her husband. According to the official version, Shavadze was arrested in relation to a drug offense and fatally injured when he tried to escape.
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