Georgia's Interior Minister Resigns After Death Of His Critic

Georgia's interior minister resigned on January 23, days after the suspected murder of a man who had accused him of covering up the circumstances surrounding the killing of two people by the police.

In 2006, police shot two men in a car after they had allegedly refused to pull over. Police officers said the men had fired at them first.

Yuri Vazagashvili, the father of one of the dead men, publicly accused Interior Minister Aleksandr Chikaidze of covering up what he said was the murder of his son and the other victim.

Vazagashvili was killed on January 20 by an explosive device placed on his son's grave as he was visiting the cemetery.

Chikaidze said in a statement posted on the Interior Ministry's website that although Vazaghasvili's accusations against him were false, he felt "moral responsibility" after his death and decided to quit.

Speaking from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said he had accepted Chikaidze's resignation.

Based on reporting by Reuters and civil.ge