TBILISI, November 11 – Georgian prosecutors have arrested three former Ministry of Internal Affairs employees accused of concealing key details surrounding the 2024 death of church acolyte Temur Khaduri.
Two of the former officers are accused of providing false information. A third is accused of both providing false information and abusing official authority, the Prosecutor General’s Office said Wednesday, as reported by Interpressnews.
According to investigators, the case began on August 25, 2024, near the village of Simoneti in western Georgia.
Prosecutors say Khaduri threw stones at vehicles on a main road, damaging several cars, including an official vehicle driven by a deputy head of the Tkibuli district police department.
Police officers who arrived at the scene tried to detain Khaduri, but he did not comply and ran away. During the pursuit, officers fired three shots into the air, prosecutors said. Khaduri was not caught.
Three days later, Khaduri was found dead in the bed of the Charchkhula River near the village of Kvemo Simoneti.
Prosecutors now allege that police officers deliberately left important details out of official interview records in order to avoid possible disciplinary and legal consequences.
Investigators say the officers failed to record the attempted arrest, the pursuit and the gunshots. Prosecutors argue that this prevented the case from being transferred to another investigative body and seriously obstructed a full and objective investigation into the circumstances of Khaduri’s death.
One investigator who had been present during the police operation is also accused of knowingly entering false information into a witness interview record and abusing his official powers.
The charges carry a possible prison sentence of up to six years.
