Giorgi Sanaia

Giorgi Sanaia ( Georgian გიორგი სანაია ; * 1975 ; † July 26, 2001 in Tbilisi ) was a Georgian journalist. He worked as an anchorman for the news program Ghamis Kurieri (German: Nachtkurier ) on the Tbilisi private broadcaster Rustawi 2 . The Georgian public suspected that members of the government had arranged for his liquidation.

Life

Immediately before his death, Sanaia researched Chechen rebel activities and drug smuggling in the Georgian Pankissi Valley and had contacts with local warlords . He was expecting video footage to show terrorists and Georgian government officials delivering drugs. On 26 July 2001, he was the night in his apartment with a shot from a rifle of caliber killed 9 mm in the back of the head. According to the US FBI involved in the investigation, it was a "highly professional" act.

On December 5, 2001, Giorgi Churtsilawa , a 26-year-old former security officer at the Georgian Interior Ministry , was arrested. He confessed to shooting Sanaia in an argument in his home. He used his former service weapon and had a key to Sanaia's apartment. Churtsilawa was sentenced on July 9, 2003 by the Gldani-Nadsaladewi District Court to a prison term of 13 years for murder.

From the outset, the Georgian public suspected the government of being behind the journalist's death. On the day of Sanaia's death, investigators were cursed in front of his home. A day later, 200 journalists protested outside the parliament building in Tbilisi against the police's inability to protect the freedom of the press. Around 10,000 people attended Sanaia's funeral.

Sanaia was married to Chatuna Tschchaidze and had a son.

Web links

• Reminder page of the Georgian Independent Journalists Association (en)
• Chronology of the murder of Giorgi Sanaia
• The Sanaia Case: The Enlightenment