The Public Defender of Georgia expresses sorrow over the death of Temirlan Machalikashvili, who was wounded in a special operation carried out in the Pankisi Gorge on December 26, 2017, and offers sympathy to his family.

The Public Defender will use all available levers to establish whether the cause of the death of this young person was the use of excessive force by the state agencies or delayed and ineffective medical assistance.

The Public Defender's Office has already appealed to the Prosecutor's Office, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the State Security Service and the Samkharauli Forensics Bureau to obtain detailed information about the criminal investigation ongoing into the alleged crime committed against Temirlan Machalikashvili. In addition, within the framework of studying the case, the Public Defender's Office appealed to the Ministry of Labour, Health and Social Affairs to get information about the measures taken for protecting the health of citizen Temirlan Machalikashvili and the talks held with clinics abroad, as well as the reasons for alleged delayed transfer of the patient. In addition, the Public Defender's Office addressed the Medical Practitioner Regulation Agency to get information about to quality and timeliness of the medical services provided.

The Public Defender of Georgia calls on the Prosecutor's Office of Georgia to conduct an effective, thorough and objective investigation into the case. The Public Defender will continue to monitor the case within the authority granted by the Organic Law of Georgia.

Despite the fact that pursuant to the legislation, the Public Defender has no access to case materials before a final decision enters into force, she hopes that the Prosecutor's Office will show good will and allow the Public Defender to fully access the case materials due to the high public interest. The Public Defender will take the interests of the investigation into account and ensure confidentiality of information.