Announcement of the 'Committee against Death Brigades'

Announcement of the 'Committee against Death Brigades'

The ‘Egalitarian Institute’ has established the ‘Committee against Death Brigades’ which aims to struggle against the bloody activities of the police on the territory of Georgia and to create a civil police force in our country, which will assist and support civilians, rather than open fire upon them.

The ‘Committee against Death Brigades’ demands a stop to the activities of ‘death brigades’ and ‘violations of the law’. The Committee also demands; the dismissal of the Minister of Internal Affairs, Vano Merabishvili, (who is accused of supporting criminals), the separation of the Security Departments from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the immediate start of the decentralization process of the police and finally, of course, the investigation of the Sandro Girgvliani case.

The ‘Committee against Death Brigades’ insists on the questioning of every eye-witnesses to the murder. High ranking officials and the wife of the Minister of Internal Affairs, Tako Salakhaia, were in the same bar as Girgvliani and his friend when they were kidnapped. The Committee demands that the information about the investigation should be open to the public and that the General Prosecutor’s Office satisfies the demands of the lawyer of Girgvliani’s family.

The ‘Committee against Death Brigades’ is a peaceful organization. We will use non-violent action. Every one, over the age of 18, who is not a member of an organization financed by Russian Special Forces and who thinks that civil movements can improve the situation in our country, is free to join us.

From the day this letter is published, the ‘Committee against Death Brigades’ will start actively campaigning to achieve the aims stated above.

Irakli Kakabadze
Zurab Rtveliashvili
Lasha Chkhartishvili
Mikheil Kachkachishvili

April 4, 2006, Tbilisi