In today’s Chamber judgment in the case of “Machalikashvili and Others versus Georgia“ the European Court of Human Rights held, unanimously, that there had been a violation of Article 2 – procedural aspect (right to life) of the European Convention on Human Rights, and, by six votes to one, that there had been no violation of Article 2 – substantive aspect (right to life).
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According to Press Release the case concerned an anti-terrorism operation carried out in Georgia by the State Security Service. Following one of the arrests, the applicants’ relative, Temirlan Machalikashvili, who was suspected of providing material support to a group associated with the so-called “Islamic State”, died in hospital, having been shot while allegedly trying to detonate a grenade during his arrest. The applicants alleged that they themselves were subjected to physical and verbal abuse.
The Court found in particular that the authorities had failed to comply with the requirements of an effective and thorough investigation for the purposes of Article 2 of the Convention. However, it considered that there was insufficient evidence to conclude, beyond reasonable doubt, that Temirlan Machalikashvili had died in circumstances engaging the responsibility of the State. Moreover, it rejected the applicants’ complaint of ill-treatment under Article 3 (prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment) as manifestly ill-founded.
The Court held that Georgia was to pay the applicants jointly 10,000 euros (EUR) in respect of nonpecuniary damage and EUR 15,000 in respect of costs and expenses.
On behalf of the Machalikashvili family “Social Justice Center” together with the European Human Rights Advocacy Center (EHRAC) submitted an application to the European Court in 2019.
The plaintiffs argued for violations of Human Rights European Convention of the following articles: Articles 2 (right to life), 3 (prohibition of torture, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment) and 13 (right to an effective remedy).
On December 26, 2017, 19-year-old Temirlan Machalikashvili was fatally shot in the head by special forces in the bedroom of his house during a special operation in the Pankisi valley. The State Security Service accused Temirlan Machalikashvili and several other people living in the Pankisi valley of helping Akhmed Chataev, recognized as an international terrorist, and his group. However, the wounded Machalikashvili died on January 10, 2018 without being charged. The rest were arrested. The court found them guilty and sentenced them to prison.
The Prosecutor's Office was conducting an investigation into the fatal wounding of Temirlan Machalikashvili under Section 3 of Article 333 of the Criminal Code, which implies the possible excess of official powers by violence, however, on January 25, 2020, the investigation was terminated due to the absence of a criminal motive. On March 27, 2020, the Public Defender applied to the General Prosecutor's Office with a request to renew the case and conduct a full investigation into the fact of the violation of Temirlan Machalikashvili's life. The General Prosecutor's Office did not meet the request of the Public Defender.
For a long time, Malkhaz Machalikashvili held a continuous protest in front of the parliament building in Tbilisi and demanded an investigation into the case of his son's murder.
