In Abkhazia, deputy Vakhtang Holland was killed during a shooting in the parliament. Another deputy, Kan Kvarchii, was wounded in the arm and is being treated. He is in intensive care, but his life is not in danger, claims the acting director. head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Abkhazia, Robert Kiut, reports novayagazeta.ru.
The incident happened in the afternoon on December 19.
According to the press service of the Abkhazian Ministry of Internal Affairs, the suspect is MP Adgur Kharaziya. He and Kvarchiya got into a fight during discussions on the bill banning mining, writes the AMRA-life channel. According to him, Kharaziya pulled out a weapon and started shooting at Khan, while Vakhtang Hollandia tried to separate them.
In the past, Kharaziya was the head of the Sukhumi administration.
In December 2020, he was detained after he wounded a man in the leg during a shooting. Then two criminal cases were opened – on charges of intentional infliction of grievous bodily harm and illegal arms trafficking.
Abkhazia is experiencing an energy crisis. Schools in the country are operating intermittently, and the internet is turned off at night – to prevent miners. On December 11, the self-proclaimed republic was completely left without electricity: since then, the power supply has been reduced to three hours a day.
In November, there were large protests in Abkhazia, the pretext for which was an investment agreement with Russia. Protesters insisted that it creates unequal conditions for business in favor of Russians. Protesters stormed the parliament building, after which lawmakers rejected the draft agreement.
Abkhazian President Aslan Bzhaniya promised to resign amid the protests. He resigned on November 19, as did Prime Minister Alexander Ankvab. Badra Gunba is acting president.
The Russian authorities have restricted tour operators from selling tours to Abkhazia due to the rejected draft agreement with Russian businesses. According to Artur Muradyan, vice president of the ATOR business association, the Russians are conducting «educational work» for Abkhazian businesses.