Additional police forces brought into Akalkalaki in Georgia after murder, riots, arson

After the killing and pogroms on August 8 in the city of Akhalkalaki in Georgia, additional police forces were brought on August 12 to prevent further possible incidents during the funeral of a killed 27-year-old local resident.

Guards were posted near the houses of all those accused of the bloody conflict. Officers of the department for special assignments arrived to help the police.

Akhalkalaki is a city in the Samtskhe-Javakheti region in southern Georgia, inhabited mainly by Armenians.  

Murder, arson and criminal infighting – what’s happening in southern Georgia?

The opposition says the authorities have lost control over the Samtskhe-Javakheti region and the local criminal communities.

After 27-year-old Vardik Miranyan was shot dead right in the center of the city, a large group of people destroyed and burned a hotel, several houses and cars of the killer’s relatives.

The police arrested 37-year-old Artur Gabrielian.  He was charged with murder and illegal acquisition, possession and carrying of firearms.

Gabrielyan was sentenced to two months’ pre-trial detention. He does not admit to the crime, but, according to the lawyer, he preferred imprisonment, as he fears revenge if he remains outside of prison.