Vano Merabishvili questioned on Zhvaniya's death

Vano Merabishvili, the former Interior Minister of Georgia, was interrogated within the case of the death of the former Prime Minister Zurab Zhvaniya. As now explained by a source from the General Prosecutor's Office (GPO) of Georgia, Merabishvili's summon to questioning was the haste with which he, then being the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA), announced the reason of Zurab Zhvaniya's death.

"It was on February 3 that Merabishvili first reported to the public about the death of Zhvaniya, stating that it was an accident. He also stated the preliminary cause of the death – poisoning with household (natural) gas. The briefing where he did it was held on February 3, 2005, at 8:38 a.m. At that early hour not only the expert's opinion was ready, but even the autopsy of the bodies was not initiated," said Temur Dolidze, the head of the press service of the GPO.

Let us remind you that on March 20 photos appeared on the Internet made in the place of Zurab Zhvaniya's death and in the morgue, which show traces, suggesting that violence was the reason of the former Premier's death.

Oppositionists have expressed their indignation with the fact that the materials that make the secrecy of investigation have been posted on the Internet. The GPO has launched an inquiry on the fact of the appearance of the photos on the Internet.