A rally is underway in front of the Prosecutor’s Office in Tbilisi, with several thousand protesters demanding the resignation of Irakli Shotadze, the Chief Prosecutor of Georgia.
The demonstration broke out today after Tbilisi City Court announced its ruling over the controversial Khorava street incident last December, which left two 16 year-olds – Davit Saralidze and Levan Dadunashvili – stabbed to death.
The Court found one of the suspects (identified as G. B.) guilty of premeditated murder of Levan Dadunashvili, and another (identified as G. J.) guilty of attempted premeditated murder of Saralidze.
The Court also ruled to acquit both suspects on group murder charges of Davit Saralidze.
As a result, the Court failed to identify the perpetrator in Saralidze’s murder case, prompting calls for justice by Zaza Saralidze, the father of one of victims, who has been disputing the official account of the incident from the very beginning of case proceedings.
Zaza Saralidze has claimed his son suffered wounds from items other than the two knives appearing as instruments of murder in prosecution’s case.
He has also blamed the Prosecutor’s Office of covering up the role of Mirza Subeliani in the affair. Subeliani is a former employee of the Prosecutor’s Office, whose nephew – Mikheil Kalandia – is the main case witness. Allegedly, Subeliani met his nephew, Kalandia, while he was with one of the murder suspects, immediately after the incident. Saralidze alleges, that Subeliani made an arrangement with Kalandia and has concealed some elements of crime.
Subeliani left his position shortly after the murder, but has not been charged in the case.
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