Managing partner of our company has released a statement regarding the murder of the first president of Georgia

16 March 2018

Amiran Giguashvili, managing partner of the law company,,Getsadze & Pateishvili'',family lawyer of the first President of Georgia Zviad Gamsakhurdia,applies to the Chief Prosecutor Irakli Shotadze. Amiran Giguashvili calls on the Prosecutor's Office to protect the constitutional rights of the family and transmit the case materials to the full extent.

"As a result of numerous petitions or complaints, finally Konstantine Gamsakhurdia was announced as the successor of the deceased on 4 October 2017, I, as his and Tsotne Gamsakhurdia's interests defender lawyer,applied for a petition and with complaint to the Prosecutor’s office three times,including the Chief Prosecutor of Georgia Irakli Shotadze personally,to hand over me the case materials in order to get acquainted with them and to give me the opportunity to prepare a complaint to Strasbourg.Nevertheless, the Prosecutor's Office refuses our request and tells us that the case materials are not permitted for the victim according to the Criminal Procedure Code and offers to get acquainted with the case on the place, the case which consists of 18 volumes, "-Amiran Giguashvili said.

As the lawyer declares , it is impossible to study comletely 18 volumes of the case materials in the Prosecutor's Office, while detailed analysis should be done, confrontation of testimonies of witnesses, comparison of the lawfulness of investigative activities with an earlier or current legislation. According to Amiran Giguashvili, the subparagraph ,,H’’ of the  paragraph 1 of the Article #57 of the Criminal Procedure Code clarifies the right of the victim: To get the information about the course of investigation and get acquainted with the materials of the criminal case, if it is not in contradiction of the interests of the investigation. According to the lawyer, this article also  includes the victims' right to receive information from the prosecutor as in verbal ,as in written form as well.

"What we ask for , refers to the rights of all victims.Today's Prosecutor's Office has successfully continued the practice of the previous government to have victims  in the information vacuum , not submitting them  the case materials,  not giving the opportunity to look into the process of investigation. Such approach contradicts both, to the Constitution of Georgia and to the recommendation of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe about the right of the victim,to have the full access to the investigation process’’,- Amiran Giguashvili says.

According to the lawyer, they informed the US Ambassador in Georgia about the violation of Zviad Gamsakhurdia's family rights. They also applied to the human rights organizations operating in Georgia, including the Public Defender, in order to share their position with the public ,about how legimate is the Prosecutor's Office refusal, to transfer the case materials to Zviad Gamsakhurdia's family.