Georgia’s Interior Ministry detained three people in the investigation into the death of Abkhaz blogger Daur Buava, who it said died after using drugs.[1] One of the three, a Ukrainian citizen, was arrested on Saturday and charged with abandoning a person in a life-threatening situation.[2] Investigators said the pair used drugs together and both felt unwell.[1] The arrested woman, identified only as V.K., left Buava alone, locked the flat and drove away without telling anyone about his condition.[1] She was charged under Article 128 of Georgia’s Criminal Code, which covers leaving a person in danger.[1]

Two other people were arrested on Sunday, a day after the woman, on drug-related charges.[2] Their arrests followed searches of two homes in Tbilisi carried out under the investigation into Buava’s death.[3] During the searches police seized several types of narcotics, including marijuana and methadone, in 10 packages.[2] The ministry said one of the detainees had given narcotics free of charge to the woman, who used drugs with Buava before leaving him in a life-threatening condition.[3]

Buava was found dead in his rented flat in Tbilisi’s Didi Dighomi district on 27 August, days after his death, after neighbours were alerted by a strong odour.[3] Investigators said Buava lived alone in the rented flat in Didi Dighomi.[2] A chemical examination found that Buava had used methadone and drunk alcohol, and methadone was also found in his home, the prosecutor’s office said.[2] Buava’s lawyers dispute the investigation’s drug-death account and have commissioned an alternative expert examination.[2]