Georgian PO closes Machalikashvili's murder case

Temirlan Machalikashvili, a resident of Pankisi, was shot dead by law enforcers, when he tried to detonate a grenade; the inquiry into the alleged abuse of powers has been stopped, the Prosecutor's Office (PO) of Georgia has stated today.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that for more than a year, relatives of Temirlan Machalikashvili have been holding their protest rallies in Tbilisi demanding to punish those responsible for Temirlan's murder. In particular, they sought to set up a special commission to investigate the case, but in May 2019, the majority of Georgian MPs voted against it.

The Georgian PO has announced today that it closes the case on abuse of powers by law enforcers. "Investigators have established that Temirlan Machalikashvili had failed to fulfil the law enforcers' demand to show his hands; he tried to get his grenade ready; therefore, he was shot dead by a law enforcer," the "Sputnik-Georgia" News Agency quotes the PO's statement.

The grenade that Temirlan Machalikashvili had tried to detonate was seized during the search before his father's eyes, who then signed the protocol and made no comments about the grenade, the PO's spokesman has explained at the today's briefing.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on January 28, 2020 at 04:44 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.