EU offers assistance to Georgia to investigate Archil Tatunashvili's death

On February 25, the EU announced that the European Union Monitoring Mission (EUMM) stood ready to support Georgia in the investigation into the circumstances of the death of a Georgian citizen detained in South Ossetia.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on February 23, the KGB for South Ossetia reported that Archil Tatunashvili, a citizen of Georgia, detained on the other day, died in hospital of heart failure. Levan Kutashvili and Ioseb Pavliashvili, who had been detained together with Archil Tatunashvili, were released from custody. Meanwhile, they still stay in the territory of South Ossetia.

According to the South Ossetian law enforcement bodies, Archil Tatunashvili took part in the August 2008 events and fought on the side of Georgian armed formations, and on the eve of his detention, he was plotting an act of sabotage in the territory of South Ossetia.

The death of Archil Tatunashvili and the detention of two other persons in South Ossetia "cause serious concern" to the European Union, announces the statement posted on the EU website on February 25.

"The EUMM stands ready to support ongoing investigations and to facilitate discussions through the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism, co-chaired by the EUMM," announces the EU.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.