Six months on, ex-MP who shot and killed a colleague in Abkhazia’s parliament has been arrested

Kharazia, who opened fire in Abkhaz parliament, detained

Kharazia, who opened fire in parliament, has been detained in Abkhazia

On 14 June in Abkhazia, former MP Adgur Kharazia was arrested six months after committing a shocking crime in December 2024.

During a parliamentary session on 19 December, while discussing a bill to toughen criminal penalties for illegal mining, a heated argument broke out. Adgur Kharazia got into a confrontation with opposition MP Kan Kvarchia, pulled out a pistol, and started shooting at him.

Kvarchia was wounded in the shoulder, and another MP, Vakhtang Golandzia, was killed by a stray bullet. Kharazia left the chamber and disappeared. Law enforcement searched for him unsuccessfully for six months, drawing harsh criticism in the media and on social networks. The injured MP Kvarchia warned that the authorities’ inaction was provoking the risk of blood revenge.

Adgur Kharazia, who had been on the run for six months, most likely surrendered voluntarily. This assumption is based on a video released by the State Security Service’s press office. The footage shows Kharazia stepping out of a car without handcuffs, holding a briefcase, accompanied by the head of the State Security Service, Dmitry Dbar, and Interior Minister Robert Kiut. Together, they enter the State Security Service building.

Adgur Kharazia most likely spent all this time hiding in Abkhazia. He was stripped of parliamentary immunity almost immediately, and his mandate was revoked in May 2025.

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According to the official statement, Kharazia was detained “as a result of joint special operations carried out by the State Security Service and the Ministry of Internal Affairs.” He faces criminal charges under articles 29 and 99 of the criminal code — attempted murder and murder — which carry a sentence of up to 12 years in prison.

On June 14, the same day Kharazia was detained, another arrest took place. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, law enforcement detained a man named Bagrat Surmava, born in 1992.

He is suspected of firing 25 shots from a Kalashnikov rifle at Adgur Kharazia’s house in December, when Kharazia was already in hiding. Surmava is believed to be a relative of MP Kan Kvarchia and may have acted out of revenge for Kvarchia’s injury.

Some experts suggest that Surmava’s arrest may have been one of the conditions for Kharazia’s voluntary surrender to law enforcement.

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