Parliament’s Interim Investigation Commission reviews case of violation of Davit Tsindeliani’s right to life under former UNM Gov’t

The Temporary Investigative Commission of the Parliament of Georgia, tasked with examining the activities of the regime in power from 2003–2012 and the actions of current and former officials affiliated with that regime and political parties from 2003 to the present, on Thursday questioned three individuals during its recent session: Tamar Arghvliani, Gia Ansiani, and Giorgi Choladze.

Tamar Arghvliani, mother of Davit Tsindeliani, provided testimony concerning the violation of her son's right to life.

Arghvliani noted that on 16 August 2008, Davit Tsindeliani, who worked as a forest ranger in the village of Khaiši in Upper Svaneti, was summoned to a meeting in Kutaisi by order of the Head of the Constitutional Security Department, Data Akhalaia.

As she stated, her son was abducted in Kutaisi by officers of the Constitutional Security Department, taken to Batumi, and handed over to Roman Shamatava, the head of the Abkhazia Division of the same agency.

She also added that her account, R. Shamatava, along with associates, took the beaten D. Tsindeliani went out to sea in a boat, shot him in the head, tied concrete slabs to his body, and submerged it in the sea.

Arghvliani said that after the abduction she had no knowledge of her son’s whereabouts, while representatives of official structures claimed he was alive and advised her not to "make a fuss".

She stated that she twice appealed to President Mikheil Saakashvili for help, but to no avail.

“I met the sadist Saakashvili twice and informed him of everything—who summoned my son to Kutaisi, where he was taken, the surveillance camera footage from the bank, and how special forces detained him. I also knew he had been handed over to the Tbilisi unit. Twice, Saakashvili told me: ‘I will help you and have investigators follow up’”, Arghvliani said.

She added that the family eventually learned of the murder but was unaware of the precise circumstances. Out of fear for the safety of other family members and potential witnesses, they did not speak publicly about it.

“Our first execution was when they shot my innocent son. The second was when they accused him of espionage. The third was when Saakashvili, speaking from Ukraine on television, mocked us and called Shamatava a hero, asking why he should be in prison”, she noted.

She stated that the murder was politically motivated and an act of revenge.

“The sadistic government of Saakashvili handed over Kodori without firing a single shot. When the army retreated from Kodori and women, children, and the elderly were abandoned, our family provided them shelter. My son cared for them and accompanied them everywhere.
At one meeting with high-ranking officials from Tbilisi and Constitutional Security staff, my son spoke up when the displaced failed to confront them directly. He reproached them, saying they had abandoned Kodori and were still neglecting the needs of the displaced. He added, ‘Your time is running out - where will you hide then?’ That night, the officers stayed behind and found out who he was and what influence he had in the region. Since it was an election year, they likely feared he would sway public opinion. Ten days later, he was summoned to a so-called meeting in Kutaisi”, she said.

She noted that the investigation into Davit Tsindeliani’s murder became possible only after the Georgian Dream came to power.

The Commission also questioned Gia Ansiani, who headed the local division of the Forestry Department in Khaiši. He provided details about Davit Tsindeliani’s abduction in Kutaisi.

Ansiani noted that three young men transferred D. Tsindeliani from his car to another vehicle, claiming they were taking him to the city’s main police department. During this time, they stole his car keys and left the scene.

“Three athletic men took Davit without showing any identification. It all happened in front of a bank with security cameras. We visited Kutaisi twice, but no one ever showed us the footage”, Ansiani said.

At the same session, the Commission questioned Giorgi Choladze, who served as Head of the Prime Minister’s Administration during the events of 20 June 2019 in Tbilisi.

As Choladze noted, during the rally on 20 June, Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze and Interior Minister Giorgi Gakharia had a conversation in which the minister stated that no special riot control equipment would be used against protesters.

Following this conversation, the Prime Minister addressed the public, calling for calm and assuring that the government would not resort to special means. However, just minutes later, riot police did in fact use such equipment.

According to Choladze, a “tense conversation” took place afterward between the Prime Minister and the Interior Minister, during which G. Gakharia stated - “I had nothing to do with it. The situation escalated, and the decision was made on the spot”.

He assessed that the Interior Minister had not taken the developments on Rustaveli Avenue seriously, claiming that “TV channels were looping old footage".

He also noted that decisions related to dispersing the protest were being made by G. Gakharia inside the Parliament building, which he described as evidence of his lack of competence. He added that the presence of the German Ambassador in the building constituted a violation of the Vienna Convention.

Choladze also said that during a meeting at the Government Administration on 21 June, when colleagues questioned G. Gakharia about the events, he responded: “The mistake was that they had such weapons at all. Only 12 people had those weapons. If more had, the consequences would have been far worse. I was the Economy Minister at the time - I had no idea what was going on".

He further noted that following the events of 20 June, Gakharia had planned to resign, but “something or someone influenced him” and he changed his mind.

At the same session, the Commission voted to extend its mandate for one additional month.

“By law, the Commission may not operate for more than six months. We are now in the fifth month of public hearings. But what the public sees is only the visible part of our work. Behind the scenes, we are engaged in daily coordination with staff, reviewing documentation, and drafting the final report. Therefore, I propose we extend our mandate for a final, sixth month. In July, public hearings will be held only in exceptional cases, as our full resources must be dedicated to preparing the report. Hearings involving interviews by three commission members may continue during this period. I further propose that we approve the final report no later than 4 August, so that it can be presented during the first plenary sessions in early September”, Commission Chair Thea Tsulukiani stated.

The Commission will submit a formal request to the Parliamentary Bureau to include the mandate extension in the plenary agenda.

The next session of the Temporary Investigative Commission is scheduled for Monday, 23 June.