Former Prosecutor General Comments on His Resignation

The Prosecutor's Office is interviewing the candidate for Prosecutor General’s position, former Prosecutor General, lawyer Irakli Shotadze, who resigned on May 31, 2018, amid protests over a high-profile “Khorava Street” murder case involving teenagers.

Recently, he has been again nominated for the vacant position of Prosecutor General of Georgia by the LEPL Georgian Technical University. 

During the interview, Shotadze noted that it was not easy for him to decide to participate in the competition and that the decision was made after a long consideration.

Former Prosecutor General also commented on his resignation back in 2018. 

"I believe that with my resignation this case (the so-called Khorava Street case) was brought to a logical conclusion. I still do not regret the decision,” he said. 

“I have spoken many times about the motives and reasons behind my decision to resign. That was my decision and I made it for the interests of the prosecutor's office and the state. There was a special situation at that time. There was a problem of communication with the public on a really serious criminal case. Political groups and parties often try to use such cases for their own political interests. Such a situation and the misunderstanding in the society was mainly caused by the political parties, which manipulated with this tragedy and misled the public," he said, adding that the main message of his resignation was to show the public that maintaining the post was not important to him. 

"My main message, in this case, was to show the public that my position meant nothing for me but an opportunity to serve society and the law. I personally had no motivation to commit any unlawful act and use official authority for illegal purposes. I made such a decision to demonstrate the above. In addition, the purpose of it was legal proceedings in the case to continue and reach a logical conclusion. I think that this decision created the opportunity for it, accordingly, I still do not regret it,” he noted.

Shotadze's decision on resignation came after the mass protests in relation to the Tbilisi City Court's verdict on the murder of two teenage boys in which two minors detained for the murder case were found guilty.

Two 16-year old schoolboys, Levan Dadunashvili and Davit Saralidze from Tbilisi Public School 51, were brutally stabbed to death during a street brawl in the city center on December 3, 2017. Dadunashvili died on the spot while Saralidze passed away in the hospital the next day.

The judge found one of the detainees guilty for the premeditated murder of one of the victims Dadunashvili, while another detainee was found guilty for the attempted murder of the second victim, Saralidze. However, the court failed to say who killed Saralidze.

After the court announced its verdict, Saralidze’s father, Zaza, went to the Prosecutor’s Office and demanded an answer as to who had killed his son, stating openly that he did not trust the investigation carried out and noted that there were too many questions left regarding the case.

Saralidze’s supporters gathered at the Prosecutor’s Office asked for “justice” and “a fair investigation.”

Shotadze said that the evidence submitted to the court by the Prosecutor’s Office would ensure a fair verdict on the case and all offenders would be punished, however, he had decided to leave his post due to the "humane side" of the latter issue.

By Ana Dumbadze 

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