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19 Year Old Soldier Brought Home Dead After Gun Shot

July 13, 2012

On July 12, the body of a 19 year old soldier was brought to Gurjaani village which is located in the District of Gurjaani. Koba Makharashvili was working in the army in Gori. A bullet had been fired into his mouth, breaking the back of his skull.
Several days before his death, the soldier asked his parents to move him to another battalion.

“Some say he was murdered and some say it was suicide. Nobody knows what happened” – some neighbors told Khaketi Information Center.

Shalva Makharashvili, the dead solider’s father, is not interested in speculating about what happened.
“This incident happened the day before yesterday, I don’t know anything more. What happened, nobody knows.  I don’t know whether this was murder or suicide. Last time I saw my son was one month ago. He was here. He never said anything about having problems or conflict with someone in the army. An autopsy has been done and hopefully the investigation will give results, I can’t say anything more right now. This is what I know” – Shalva Makharashvili told Khaketi Information Center.

Kakheti Information Center learned that as a result of pressure from military police, the dead soldier’s family avoids talking to journalists about the reasons of death. The dead soldier has three brothers, one older who is 20years old and other two under the age of 18.

Criminal proceedings have already started into the circumstances of the soldier’s death. The investigation is being conducted by the military police. No statement was made by the Georgian Ministry of Defense.

The death of three other soldiers, Levan Songulashvili , Levan Natatralashvili  and George Mumladze, have still not been investigated by the military police.

Levan Songulashvili, a soldier of Kutaisi battalion number 3 died in 2007. According to military police, Songulashvili killed himself, but his family members deny this.  His family members claim that Songulashvili was beaten heavily and then shot with a bullet from behind. On the 13th of July of the same year, another soldier, Levan Natatralashvili, died during a peacekeeping operation in upper Abkhazia. Before that, 19 year old soldier in the Uplistsikhe battalion George Mumladze was killed in an incident of carelessness.

Natia Danelishvili, ICK

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