Page 6 - GEORptJun18

2.0 Politics
2.1 Protests over murdered teenager gather momentum
in Georgia
Protests over the failure to identify the killer of a teenager who was stabbed in a brawl outside his school in Tbilisi are swelling in Georgia, with mass rallies in the capital for several nights running.
The demonstrations initiated by Zaza Saralidze, the father of murdered 16-year-old David Saralidze, first targeted prosecutors, who he accused of covering up his son’s killer. But as they have grown in scale the protests have become an outpouring of anger against Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili and his government, who protesters say should step down.
According to local news site Georgia Today, the protests on May 31 and June 1 were among the largest in recent history in Georgia. Protests have also taken place in Kutaisi, the country’s cew administrative capital.
A small counter protest also took place on June 1, organised by far right nationalists, several of whom were detained by police, according to local media reports.
“Though Kvirikashvili has said he will not resign, the recent success in neighbouring Armenia may inspire protesters to continue demonstrating. Recently, mass protests in Armenia led to the ouster of former President Serzh Sargsyan,” Stratfor analysts wrote in a note.
Saralidze organised two rallies in April and early May, in the final days of the trial of those suspected of killing David Saralidze and another teenager Levan Dadunashvili, but large scale protests began in earnest on May 31 after the Tbilisi City Court announced its verdict but failed to say who had killed Saralidze.
The court found two other teenagers guilty in the case, it said in a statement . One, identified only as G.B., was found guilty of the premeditated murder of Dadunashvili. Another, G.J., was found guilty of the attempted murder of Saralidze, but the court did not determine who actually killed Saralidze, who died from multiple stab wounds days after the incident.
Zaza Saralidze demanded an open and fair investigation into the deaths. He claims that prosecutors failed to properly investigate the case because the father of one of the youths involved in the incident had worked for the Prosecutor’s Office.
Chief prosecutor Irakly Shotadze stepped down late on May 31, and openly criticised the verdict, calling it “obscure” and saying that his office had presented evidence pointing to the guilt of both the defendants.
“The lawsuit will definitely continue and I am convinced that all offenders will be liable in full severity of the law,” he said in a statement p ublished on the prosecutor’s website.
Despite Shotadze’s resignation, and efforts by Kvirikashvili to address the
6 GEORGIA Country Report June 2018 www.intellinews.com