Zakan Jugelia Explained
Zakan Jugelia |
Office: | Deputy Minister for Internal Affairs of Abkhazia |
Term Start: | 2005 |
Term End: | 26 January 2009 |
Death Date: | 26 January 2009 |
Death Place: | Sukhumi |
Party: | Amtsakhara |
Zakan Jugelia (Закан Джугелия; died 26 January 2009) was a Deputy Minister for Internal Affairs of the Republic of Abkhazia who was murdered 26 January 2009 in Sukhumi.[1]
Life and career
Jugelia was a veteran of the 1992-1993 War in Abkhazia and he was a member of the veteran movement Amtsakhara.[2] Jugelia was head of the Department for Combating Economic Crimes within the Abkhazian Ministry for Internal Affair before becoming Deputy Minister for Internal Affairs in 2005.[3]
Murder
Jugelia was shot at 19:30 local time with a Winchester rifle while sitting on the verandah of the cafe Kiki in Sukhumi. Around 19:45 he was brought to the Sukhumi Republican Hospital with severe wounds to his neck and the left axillary region to which he then succumbed. Witnesses reported that a masked man had left his car and shot Jugelia from point-blank range in the back of the head.[4]
On 30 January, Apsnypress reported that initial investigations put forward two possible scenarios for the murder:[5]
- Since Jugelia was actively fighting against drug trafficking and corruption, it is possible that someone who was directly affected by this decided to remove him.
- The murder could have been committed by criminals in order to demonstrate the weakness of the law agencies, and to create a climate profitable for their activities.
Earlier investigators had also said that it could not be excluded that Jugelia was murdered by a foreign power in order to hamper the government's work towards socio-economic improvement.[6]
Notes and References
- Web site: Abkhaz Deputy Interior Minister Shot Dead . . 27 January 2009 . 29 January 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110607102644/http://www.civil.ge/eng/article.php?id=20327 . 2011-06-07 . live.
- Web site: ГОВОРЯТ УЧАСТНИКИ КОНФЕРЕНЦИИ "ЕДИНОЙ АБХАЗИИ" . . 27 January 2009 . 29 January 2009.
- Web site: В Абхазии убит замминистра внутренних дел Закан Джугелия . . 26 January 2009 . 1 February 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090131042151/http://www.kavkaz-uzel.ru/articles/148654 . 2009-01-31 . live.
- Web site: Следствие рассматривает три версии убийства замминистра ВД Абхазии . . 27 January 2009 . 1 February 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090131042151/http://www.kavkaz-uzel.ru/articles/148654 . 2009-01-31 . live.
- Web site: У ГЕНПРОКУРАТУРЫ ДВЕ ВЕРСИИ УБИЙСТВА ПЕРВОГО ЗАМЕСТИТЕЛЯ МИНИСТРА ВНУТРЕННИХ ДЕЛ ЗАКАНА ДЖУГЕЛИЯ . . 30 January 2009 . 1 February 2009.
- Web site: СЛЕДСТВЕННАЯ ГРУППА ВЫДВИГАЕТ ТРИ ВЕРСИИ УБИЙСТВА ЗАМЕСТИТЕЛЯ МИНИСТРА ВНУТРЕННИХ ДЕЛ ЗАКАНА ДЖУГЕЛИЯ . . 27 January 2009 . 29 January 2009.