Georgian Citizen Killed by Occupation Forces in Gali

A Georgian citizen, 43-years old Temur Karbaia, was beaten to death in Gali by three occupation forces (the so-called “Militia”) representatives of occupied Abkhazia. The information was first published on Facebook on December 9 by the movement “For Abkhazia”. The Special Security Service of Georgia (SSSG) confirmed the killing to Civil.ge.

According to the latest information, the representatives of the occupation regime stopped Karbaia to check his documents in the center of the town of Gali and started insulting and beating him in front of numerous onlookers. He was later taken to hospital, but due to the severity of his injuries, doctors couldn’t save him.

“This is another victim of the occupation regime. According to our information, the so-called “Milicia” arrested this person, beat him severely, and later, when they realized that he was on the verge of death, they tried to save him and took him to Sokhumi, but unfortunately he died,” – says Nukri Nodia, a member of the movement “For Abkhazia”.

“In connection with the mentioned incident, the “hot line” was activated with the participation of the monitoring mission of the European Union”, – stated the SSSG. The Special Security Service said the occupying forces don’t confirm that the killing took place during the occupying forces’ attempt to illegally detain Karbaia.

The President of Georgia, Salome Zurabishvili addressed the incident on Twitter, stating that it “is a tragic reminder of the blatant violations of elementary Human rights in the territories occupied by Russia.”

Commenting on the killing, the Speaker of the Georgian Parliament, Shalva Papuashvili, said: “Today [December 10], on Human Rights Protection Day, it is particularly important to look at the occupation from the perspective that it means not only violation of Georgia’s territorial integrity, but first and foremost trampling on human rights in the occupied territories. My condolences to his family. This has shown us once again how important it is to end the occupation as soon as possible.”

Statement of the Public Defender of Georgia

The Ombudsman of Georgia issued a statement on December 10, extending his condolences to the family of the deceased and emphasizing that “it is regretful that today, when the world is celebrating the International Human Rights Day, the information about the alleged killing of a Georgian citizen by the occupying forces has been spread again.”

The Public Defender points out that the responsibility for the violation of the right to life of the Georgian citizen lies with the Russian Federation, as it is the state that controls the occupied territory. The Public Defender calls upon the Georgian Government and international human rights defenders and monitoring organizations “to make maximum efforts to ensure effective investigation of the above-mentioned fact, punishment of the perpetrators and imposition of responsibility on the Russian Federation”.

The statement also notes that “it is regretful” that the occupation regime still hasn’t punished the individuals responsible for the killing of Davit Basharuli, Giga Otkhozoria, Archil Tatunashvili, and Irakli Kvarackhelia. The Ombudsman also highlights that the regime has still to investigate the killing of Tamaz Ginturi a month ago.

“Against this background, the involvement of international organizations and the international community as a whole in preventing alleged violations of the right to life is particularly important, as the impunity of such acts puts the lives of Georgian citizens at particular risk,” – concludes the statement.

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