10:26, 11 January 2020

ECtHR starts considering complaint of the family of Pankisi casualty

The European Court of Human Rights. Photo: REUTERS/Vincent Kessler

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) is waiting explanations from Georgian authorities on the complaint submitted by the family of Temirlan Machalikashvili, who perished during a special operation conducted in Pankisi, said Tamta Mikeladze, the head of the "Centre for Human Rights Training and Monitoring".

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Temirlan's father has been conducting his protest rally in Tbilisi for more than a year, demanding to punish those responsible for the murder of his son. On January 9, he decided to leave a banner at the parliament building in Tbilisi demanding to investigate the murder of his son, but he intends to move the tent that had been demolished by the authorities to some other location.

The 19-year-old Temirlan Machalikashvili was mortally wounded in his house during a special operation on December 26, 2017, in the Pankisi Gorge. After his death, law enforcers stated that Temirlan Machalikashvili had tried to throw a grenade at them; however, his family claims that the young man was shot dead while in his bed.

On June 6, 2019, the above "Human Rights Training and Monitoring Centre" filed a complaint to the ECtHR in connection with the "inhuman treatment and inefficient investigation" of the Machalikashvili's case. By the end of March, the Georgian authorities should provide the ECtHR with the arguments on the judge's claims, Tamta Mikeladze said on air of the "Mtavari Arkhi" TV Company.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on January 10, 2020 at 04:24 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.

Author: Inna Kukudjanova

Source: CK correspondent