Aussiegirl found this article reporting another suspicious death in Georgia:

GEORGIA was yesterday plunged into crisis after it was revealed a political associate of dead prime minister Zurab Zhvania had apparently committed suicide.

There were fears of a return to the old Soviet ways of dispensing with political foes by alleged accident or suicide after the third death in the government in as many days.

Zhvania, a moderating force in the Georgian government, and a colleague died apparently of carbon monoxide poisoning caused by a faulty heater last week.

Georgy Khelashvili, 32, a political associate of Zhvania, was found dead at his home of a gunshot wound on Friday night, a Tbilisi police official, Irakli Pirkhalala, said yesterday. Khelashvili was a member of the presidential commission on pardons and part of Zhvania????????s United Democrats political bloc.

But within hours of the announcement of the suicide, officials changed the story and said Khelashvili was not known by the dead prime minister and had in fact held a low civil service position.

Pirkhalala said Khelashvili shot himself with a hunting rifle that he had borrowed from a neighbour on the pretext of taking a hunting trip. He left a note asking for forgiveness, Pirkhalala said. “He left a note to his family and wrote the sort of thing people write when they commit suicide,” he said.

Though there was no immediate indication that the suicide was connected to Zhvania????????s death on Thursday, it is likely to add to the uneasy suspicions plaguing Georgians after the passing of the widely respected prime minister.

Even before the suicide of Khelashvili, many Georgians wondered whether the authorities were telling them the truth. Georgia has a history of political intrigue and violence.

Historian Grigory Dardzhanian said: “There were plenty of people who envied Zurab, many were hoping that a conflict would break out between him and the president.”

This seems to be a phenomenon of eastern Europe. Just like in Ukraine, when one big guy goes down, many do. We might see more such deaths. But are these accidents, suicide, or murder?

UPDATE: Even more over at The Argus.

Officials are interrogating dozens of people in connection with Zhvania????????s death. They are trying to track down an unknown person he called at 1:20 a.m., three hours before his body was found.

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