New head of Odessa Police escapes prosecution in Georgia

Georgia does not continue criminal proceedings against Giya Lortkipanidze, who on June 16 was appointed the head of the Odessa Police. This was stated by experts interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot". The Georgian Prosecutor's Office and the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) have no claims against Giya Lortkipanidze, the "United National Movement" (UNM) Party reports.

On June 9, Mikhail Saakashvili, the head of the Odessa regional state administration, announced his decision to appoint Giya Lortkipanidze, the former Georgian Deputy Minister of Internal Affair, to the post of the chief of the Ukrainian MIA's Department for the Odessa Region. Earlier, the name of Giya Lortkipanidze, the former Georgian Deputy Minister of Internal Affair, had been mentioned in connection with the investigation into the special operation on liberation of civilians carried out in August 2012 in the Lopota Gorge not far from the village of Lapankuri. According to the Georgian MIA, three fighters of special forces and 11 militants were killed there. However, after the publication of some details of the special operation, Georgian experts claimed it could be a staging.

Staff members of the Georgian MIA did try to initiate criminal proceedings against Giya Lortkipanidze. This was stated by Saikhan Muzaev, a refugee from Chechnya, a member of the NGO "Institute for Protection of Human Rights". In its turn, the Georgian Prosecutor's Office refused to provide information on whether a criminal case against Giya Lortkipanidze had been initiated or not.

Eka Zguladze, the Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs, has described the new head of the Odessa Police as "a highly professional and qualified specialist and responsible leader."

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.