Relatives of High-Profile Murder Victim Accuse Officials of Intimidation

Irina Enukidze, mother of  Sandro Girgvliani, who was murdered in January, said on May 2 that representatives of the authorities, whom she did not specify, offered her money in exchange for her silence and giving-up pushing the issue of public discussions over this matter.

28-year-old Sandro Girgvliani, head of the United Georgian Bank’s International Relations Department, was found dead on January 28 on the outskirts of Tbilisi. In February, Imedi TV report that some top officials from the Interior Ministry could have been engaged in the crime.  On March 6 police arrested four officers from the Interior Ministry’s Department for Constitutional Security (DCS) under suspicion of committing Girgvliani’s murder. But the relatives of the victim, as well as some human rights groups, continued to pressure the government, claiming that more high-level officials were behind the murder. Some human rights groups held several protest rallies, including one on May 2.

“They [referring to authorities] offered me any sum in exchange for me keeping silent. Otherwise, they threatened to silence me by force. They also prohibited me from having any contact with the opposition. Now, I want to answer to the authors of these proposals – they have made a huge mistake,” Irina Enukidze, mother of Girgvliani, said at a news conference on May 2.
 
Chairperson of the influential human rights advocacy Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA) Ana Dolidze, who also attended the press conference, said that “such a proposal by the authorities was not a surprise.”

Chief prosecutor of the capital city Tbilisi Giorgi Gviniashvili said on May 2 that law enforcers will interrogate Irina Enukidze over her statements.

“If she names a particular person or any official [who allegedly threatened Enukidze], we will undertake very firm measures,” Tbilisi chief prosecutor Gviniashvili said at a news conference on May 2.  
 
He reiterated the official version and said that the murder followed a spontaneous dispute between the victim and Interior Ministry officials and denied the opponent’s allegations that the murder was ordered by high-level officials.
 
Gviniashvili also said that over 50 witnesses were interrogated during the investigation.