After Kirbali murder, Georgia's opposition reminds parliament of the "Otkhozoriya-Tatunashvili List"

The Kirbali murder

Chairperson of the United National Movement parliamentary faction, Tina Bokuchava, said that they have prepared a resolution “which is supported by the entire opposition spectrum” and that the Georgian parliament should immediately react to the crime committed in the village of Kirbali in the Georgian-Ossetian conflict zone, where Russian border guards shot Georgian citizen Tamaz Ginturi dead.

Bokuchava called on the government to “adopt a common national vision of the occupation so that Georgia can realize the policy of de-occupation and peace.”

“We call on the government to immediately include the names of these criminals in the Otkhozoriya-Tatunashvili list and implement this list, which was adopted by the parliament in 2018, but unfortunately, the current government is not using it in the international arena to punish the criminals. We also call on the government to adopt a common national vision of the occupation so that Georgia can realize the policy of de-occupation and peace.”

In June 2018, the Georgian Parliament approved the “Otozoria-Tatunashvili List” similar to the USA’s “Magnitsky List”. The main purpose of the list is to protect the security of Georgian citizens in the Georgian-Abkhazian and Georgian-Ossetian conflict zones. It included 33 people who have committed various crimes against Georgian citizens in the conflict zones since 1991.

The opposition claims that the government adopted the Otkhozori-Tatunashvili List only under public pressure and does nothing to expand it.

• The murder of Tamaz Ginturi: what happened, Tskhinvali’s version, what Georgian politicians say
• Anti-Occupation Political Council established in Georgia

What happened in the village of Kirbali?

The village of Kirbali is located in the zone of the Georgian-South Ossetian conflict and is controlled by Russian border guards, as they see it as the state border of South Ossetia.

On October 25, information spread that Russians entered the territory of the Lomisi church located near the village and blocked the entrance to it for local residents. The head of the public relations service of the Georgian Patriarchate confirmed this information, adding that the border guards did so because “someone was flying the Georgian flag there”.

On November 6, a Georgian citizen Tamaz Ginturi was killed by Russian border guards near this church. Another Georgian citizen, Levan Dotiashvili was kidnapped.

After his release, Dotiashvili said that first the Russian military fired a warning shot, after which Tamaz and Levan left the territory of the Lomisi church. They got into a car and managed to drive only a few meters when the soldier started shooting.

According to Levan Dotiashvili, after the wounded Tamaz Ginturi was pulled out of the car, seven more Russian soldiers appeared, one of whom hit Levan, forced him to lie on the ground and handcuffed him.

“I was taken away towards the forest, and I never saw Tamaz again. On the way there were insults and beatings,” Dotiashvili says.

The Georgian government has called on the international community to condemn the killing.

The country’s President Salome Zurabishvili called the incident “a brutal attack on Georgian statehood”.

Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili together with the international community addressed Russian representatives and called for their cooperation. He said the killing once again confirms “the difficult security situation on the ground and speaks of the dire consequences of the occupation.”

The Kirbali murder