In Tbilisi City Court, the trial is underway of Valeria Kirlyuk, a citizen of Ukraine and the woman detained in connection with the abandonment in distress of Abkhaz blogger Daur Buava.

At today’s hearing, the court will consider the application of a preventive measure against Valeria Kirlyuk.

The prosecution is requesting the most severe preventive measure - pretrial detention - while the defense lawyer is seeking her release without any preventive measure.

The detained woman herself is exercising her right to remain silent. However, the hearing is taking place without her participation, as she has been placed in the “Vivamed” clinic. A medical certificate from the hospital has been submitted to the court, according to which the defendant is unable to appear in court or participate in the proceedings.

For reference: Abkhaz blogger Daur Buava was found dead in a residential apartment in Tbilisi on 28 August. He had reportedly been dead for several days, as neighbors called the rescue team because of a strong smell of “rotting meat” in the building. Rescuers found Buava already deceased upon entering the apartment. On 29 August, law enforcement officers detained a foreign citizen - Buava’s female friend Valeria Kirlyuk - under Article 128 of the Criminal Code, which concerns abandonment in distress.

According to the investigation, the two of them used narcotic substances, after which both became unwell. The investigation states that the detained woman left Buava in a critically severe and life-threatening condition, locked the apartment door from the outside, and left the scene. An investigation is also underway under Article 115 of the Criminal Code - driving to suicide.

Within the framework of the investigation into Daur Buava’s death, law enforcement officers have also detained two persons on charges of purchase and storage of narcotic substances.