Georgian citizen died in Abkhazian prison from kidney insufficiency, not beatings, doctors say

Citizen of Georgia Demur Gogokhiya, who served his term in the Dranda Prison in Abkhazia, died from sharp kidney insufficiency, not from beatings. This was stated today to journalists in Sukhumi by Guram Shoua, chief physician of the Agudzeri Hospital, who made his comments on the information from the Georgian party about Gogokhiya's violent death.

Mr Shoua has explained that Gogokhiya suffered from tuberculosis (TB), liver cirrhosis and sharp kidney insufficiency. The prisoner arrived in hospital on February 25, and on February 27 he died. "No traces of beatings, as Georgian media assert, were found," the physician said.

As reported by the republic's MIA, Gogokhiya was accused of committing terror acts in the territory of Abkhazia, and in 2006 he was sentenced under the article of "terrorism" of the Criminal Code of Abkhazia to 14 years of imprisonment.

Otar Khetsiya, Minister of Internal Affairs, is categorically against the fact of Gogokhiya's violent death. According to the data he presented, the convict took his treatment at prison hospital from January 17 to February 25. "When his health worsened, Gogokhiya was transported to the Agudzeri Hospital, where he soon died," Mr Khetsiya said.