Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association believes that an unauthorized body is conducting investigation on Amiran Kvirikashvili's death

The Georgian Young Lawyers' Association believes that the investigation on the death of Amiran Kvirikashvili must be conducted not by the Ministry of Internal Affairs but the Prosecutor's Office of Georgia. We call upon the relevant authorities to take appropriate measures immediately.

Reportedly, Amiran Kvirikashvili ended his life with suicide after he had been summoned to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The family members talk about the psychological pressure applied by the police towards him during the interrogation.

Under these conditions, according to the official information, the case is being investigated by the investigators of the General Inspection of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the offense provided for in Article 115 of the Criminal Code of Georgia (Incitement to suicide).

The Order of 7 July 2013 of the Minister of Justice of Georgia, which determines the rules of sub-procedure of Investigation of criminal cases, directly states that an offense committed by the police shall be referred to investigators of the Prosecutor’s Office. Pursuant to the practice of the European Court of Human Rights established through a number of cases, if there is a reasonable doubt that an offense was committed by state officials, the effective and independent investigation shall be conducted by another agency. One of the circumstances that led the European Court to determine the lack of objectivity of the investigation with regards to "Enukidze and Girgvliani v. Georgia" was that the investigators of the Ministry of Internal Affairs carried out the major investigative activities. The court considered it as a violation that the Ministry of Internal Affairs did not hand over the investigation to the Prosecutor's Office immediately when it became aware that presumably the employees of the Interior Ministry contributed to the crime.

The investigation of Kvirikshvili's case by the Ministry of Internal Affairs immediately raised doubts over the independence and efficiency of the investigation.

We call upon the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia and the Prosecutor's Office to adhere to the requirements of the Georgian legislation as well as the standards set by the European Court of Human Rights and hand over the investigation into the case of Amiran Kvirikashvili's incitement to suicide immediately to the Prosecutor's Office of Georgia. In addition, the Prosecutor's Office should provide a comprehensive, fast and objective investigation of the case and inform the family members of the deceased as well as the public on the progress and results of the investigation.