oleg melnikov

Oleg Melnikov. (Interpressnews.)

TBILISI, DFWatch–A former officer in Georgia’s domestic intelligence who was involved in the 2006 murder of Sandro Girgvliani has beenreleased from prison.

Oleg Melnikov, formerly an officer of the Constitutional Security Department or ‘Kudi’, was released from Matrosov prison in Tbilisi on December 6, his lawyer confirmed.

He has admitted being involved in the cover-up after  Girgvliani was murdered by policemen after having had a quarrel with the wife of the interior minister.

Melnikov is also involved in another case about a beating of two police officers, also in that case was the reason a disagreement with wife of then Interior Minister Vano Merabishvili.

At the time Melnikov was charged he was abroad and was declared internationally wanted. December 7, 2012, police detained him in Kiev, Ukraine, which extradited him to Georgia on September 21, 2013.

Melnikov gave testimony against former government officials in several criminal cases, and was rewarded with a plea agreement which now has led to his release.