Former Police Official Sentenced to 7 Years in Absentia

Georgia’s former head of the Constitutional Security Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, David Akhalaia was sentenced to seven years and six months in prison on Monday by the Tbilisi City Court for the murder of Sandro Girgvliani back in 2006 and for kidnapping of several individuals for personal revenge when he served in the high role.

“Akhalaia was found guilty of abuse of power, illegal deprivation of liberty and humiliation of human dignity. Akhalaia was finally sentenced to seven years and six months imprisonment for the episode with Sandro Girgvliani, Levan Bukhaidze, Kakha Dabrundashvili and Vamehk Abulashvili, and was deprived of the right to work in public service for one year and six months”, read the press release of the Tbilisi City Court.

Girgvliani was head of the United Georgian Bank's Foreign Department when he was tortured and killed on January 28, 2006. He had been severely assaulted and his body was found with multiple injuries near Tbilisi.

According to different sources, the 28-year-old’s death was connected with a situation that developed at Sharden Bar, an elite Tbilisi bar earlier that evening.

It was alleged that the former Inspector General of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Vasil Sanodze was holding his birthday party with colleagues at the bar, accompanied by then-Interior Minister Vano Merabishvili’s wife Tako Salakaia. She was a friend of Girgvliani's girlfriend Tamar Maisuradze, who was also present at the party. Sources alleged that Maisuradze was the reason why Girgvliani had an argument with the Ministry representatives that evening. Later that night Girgvliani was found dead.

In 2006 several then-Interior Ministry employees were held accountable for their involvement in the murder but Irina Enukidze, late Girgvliani’s mother, said she would not stop fighting until all involved, including higher officials linked to the case, were punished.

During her plight Enukidze became ill; she was diagnosed with cancer and died in 2007.

Her family and friends continued her fight, which reached a peak in April 2011 when the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg partially satisfied a lawsuit filed by the Girgvliani family against the Georgian government.

The Court ruling said the investigation into Girgvliani’s death "clearly lacked the requisite, independence, impartiality, objectivity and thoroughness”. The Court ordered the Georgian government to pay ˆ50,000 (141,000 GEL) compensation to the Girgvliani family for moral damage.

The Georgian Dream government renewed the case investigation when they came to power in 2012.

Former Interior Minister Ivane Merabishvili has also been sentenced for the case.