In the case regarding the death of Abkhazian blogger Daur Buava in Tbilisi, a court has ordered pre-trial detention for Ukrainian citizen Valeriya Kirilyuk. She was detained on charges of leaving a person in danger.
The decision to remand Kirilyuk, born in 2003, in custody was made by Judge Arsen Kalatozishvili. The defendant was not present at the hearing, as she is currently admitted to the Vivamedi clinic. According to Georgian media, a submitted medical certificate stated that “the patient is currently undergoing treatment and cannot participate in the court proceedings.”
Prosecutor David Kazarashvili pointed out that although Kirilyuk claims in her testimony that she panicked, in reality she likely feared facing accountability and for that reason failed to inform anyone about the condition of Daur Buava, who was still alive at the time. After leaving Buava’s apartment, she spoke with residents of the building, her friend, and a taxi driver, and two days passed before Daur was found dead. According to the prosecutor, taking all these circumstances into account, there is a high risk that Kirilyuk might take actions to obstruct justice in order to protect herself.
Defense attorney Khatuna Chkheidze stated that her client is exercising her right to remain silent. At the hearing, the defense filed a motion to deny pre-trial detention. According to the lawyer, Kirilyuk intends to await trial in Georgia, continues to rent an apartment, and has no intention of leaving the country. Chkheidze also emphasized the need to determine what exactly frightened her client and what state she was in when she left Buava’s apartment, noting as well that she is charged with a less serious offense.
The preliminary court hearing has been scheduled for October 22.
According to a statement from the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia, on August 23 at 01:04, Daur Buava was visited at his rented apartment in Tbilisi’s Didi Dighomi district, where he lived alone, by his acquaintance, Ukrainian citizen V. K. She had the narcotic substance methadone in her possession, which they consumed together. According to the defendant’s testimony, after taking the drugs, Buava wanted another dose. At around 03:00, after consuming the narcotic substance, the defendant V. K. felt unwell and lost consciousness.
In her statement to investigators, the accused explained that she only regained consciousness on August 25 at around 09:00 and saw that Daur Buava was breathing heavily, but appeared to be unconscious. According to her testimony, she was still feeling unwell at that moment, became frightened, and left the apartment, leaving Daur unconscious and without notifying anyone.
As part of the investigation into the blogger’s death, the Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs also searched two residential premises in Tbilisi. During the investigative measures, two other individuals acquainted with Buava were detained. They face charges of illegal drug acquisition and possession.
According to the ministry, various types of narcotics, including marijuana and methadone, were seized as evidence following the searches. The investigation established that one of the detainees had provided the narcotic substance free of charge to the Ukrainian citizen, who subsequently consumed it with Buava.
As previously reported, 32-year-old blogger from Abkhazia Daur Buava was found dead in Tbilisi on August 28. Security camera footage indicates that Buava was last seen entering the building on August 23.
In 2022, it became known that the de facto State Security Service of Abkhazia had charged the blogger with “high treason.” His home was searched at the time. In 2021, he had moved to Tbilisi from Tkvarcheli and never returned.
Starting in 2021, Buava posted videos on TikTok discussing friendship between Georgians and Abkhazians, prospects for peaceful coexistence, and other topics.
The de facto Security Service of Abkhazia claimed that Buava’s video content harmed “the security and defense capability of the state of Abkhazia and was aimed at assisting a hostile state against Abkhazia.”