The former deputy head of the then Constitutional Security Department in Adjara and a member of the Special Forces were found guilty by of intentional unlawful detention of Sergeant Roin Shavadze, participation in the group killing of a helpless person, and abuse of power through the use of force. Both men were sentenced to 16 years in prison. The sentence was reduced under the amnesty law and the defendants will have to serve 12 years in prison.
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, Adjara. Eyewitnesses reported 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 informed Shavadze’s wife of her husband’s death. According to the official version at the time, Shavadze had been arrested for a drug offence and was fatally injured while trying to escape.
According to the Prosecutor’s Office (POG), to conceal the illegal arrest and murder of Roin Shavadze, the perpetrators devised a false narrative and created a fabricated arrest protocol claiming Shavadze was carrying drugs.
The Prosecutor’s Office also said that the drugs were planted by those involved in the illegal arrest. The perpetrators staged a scenario in which Shavadze allegedly tried to escape from the police van on the way to Tbilisi, thus justifying the use of force against him. The perpetrators then made the killing of Shavadze appear to be in self-defense. According to the prosecutor’s office, the investigation has exposed this false narrative.
On July 28, 2023, 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.
According to the Prosecutor’s Office, criminal proceedings have been initiated against a total of 12 people in this case. Investigations are continuing with the aim of identifying and exposing any other persons involved in the crime.
Earlier on November 19, 2020 the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) decided on “Shavadze vs. Georgia”. 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.”
-
-
-
-
This post is also available in: ქართული (Georgian) Русский (Russian)