In Tbilisi, father of murdered teenager goes on hunger strike

Today, Zaza Saralidze has started a hunger strike in a yard of the Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA). The man demands from investigators to detain one of the main witnesses, whom he considers involved in the murder of his son.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on May 31, the court decision in a case on murder of two schoolboys provoked multi-day protests in Tbilisi. Activists demanded a fair punishment for the criminals and the law enforcers who cover them up. On June 10, Zaza Saralidze, a father of one of the murdered schoolchildren, demanded the resignation of Giorgi Gakhariya, Georgian Minister of Internal Affairs, and Thea Tsulukiani, Georgian Minister of Justice.

Zaza Saralidze has reported that today, he has started his hunger strike after meeting with the chief of the criminal police. "The director of the criminal police assures me there is no evidence and [one of the main witnesses in the case of the murder of two schoolchildren] is not detained. There is evidence already, but they do not want ... They cover him up ... Let them cover the criminal up, but I'll sit here until they detain him," said Zaza Saralidze as quoted by the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent who watched his speech on the air of the "Rustavi-2" TV Channel.

According to Zaza Saralidze, the investigators state they "need time." However, seven months have passed since the murder, and at the action of solidarity, he himself has given the authorities a month to detain all the guilty persons, the father of the murdered schoolboy reminded.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on July 2, 2018 at 04:57 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.