We, the signatory organizations, respond to the murder case of teenagers at Khorava Street and the Georgian Parliament’s decision to set up an interim investigative commission. We suppose that Georgia’s Chief Prosecutor should resign before the interim commission starts working. 

The Parliament’s decision to set up an interim investigative commission is reasonable. However, the primary task of the interim investigative commission is to identify, study and assess all possible wrongdoings by the Georgian Prosecutor’s Office related to the criminal case. Otherwise, the commission’s work will be formal and futile.  

At the same time, the commission cannot replace the body that is in charge of criminal prosecution as well as the court, implying that the Georgian Prosecutor’s Office will remain responsible for carrying out a comprehensive and impartial investigation into the above mentioned criminal case. 

The Parliament’s decision to set up an interim investigative commission indicates that there are legitimate questions about the actions carried out by the prosecutor’s office and possible interests into the consequences of the case. However, according to current legislation, the interim investigative commission will have access to the criminal case only upon permission of the chief prosecutor. Thus, the incumbent chief prosecutor’s stay on the position will question any attempts by the Parliament to study the legality of performance by the prosecutor’s office. 

The Khorava Street incident is not the only case that causes legitimate and fair protest by the public towards investigation and judiciary. A number of high-profile cases have been left uninvestigated and unanswered. It is clear that the current investigation system fails to respond to the crisis situations and needs root reforms. 

Based on the above mentioned, we call on the Chief Prosecutor of Georgia, to resign immediately. We also call on the Parliament of Georgia to carry out the work of the interim investigative commission as openly as possible, with full observance of laws.        

Open Society Georgia Foundation 

International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy 

Human Rights and Monitoring Center

Georgian Young Lawyers Association

Transparency International Georgia

Georgian Democracy Initiative

Article 42 of the Constitution

Human Rights Center

White Noise Movement