Late Georgian Prime Minister's Widow Supports New Probe Into His Death

Zurab Zhvania's wife Nino Kadagidze beside a picture of her late husband. (file photo)

TBILISI -- The widow of Georgia's late Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania says she believes new investigations into her husband's death are on the right track.

Speaking in Tbilisi on March 26, Nino Kadagidze told journalists she approves of the exhumation of her husband's body.

On March 21, a forensic pathologist who examined Zhvania's body after his death was charged with negligence.

The arrest came after autopsy photos leaked to the Internet allegedly showed bruises and other marks on Zhvania's body.

On March 22, former President Mikheil Saakashvili, who is in the United States, was summoned for questioning as a witness in various cases including Zhvania's death.

Zhvania and the deputy governor of the Kvemo Kartli region, Raul Yusupov, were found dead in 2005.

Investigators then said the deaths were caused by carbon monoxide poisoning due to a faulty gas heater.