The blogger accused of treason in Abkhazia has been found dead in Tbilisi.

The body of the Abkhaz blogger Daur Buava, who was accused of treason in Abkhazia, was found in a residential apartment in Tbilisi. An investigation is underway under the article "driving to suicide."

The body of 30-year-old Abkhaz blogger Daur Buava was discovered in Tbilisi. The police found his body last night in a rented apartment.

Forensic experts worked in one of the districts of the Georgian capital until late at night. Investigative actions continue in the apartment rented by the blogger, reports the Pirveli television company today.

According to available information, Buava was last seen by neighbors a few days ago. Yesterday, emergency services and police were called to the scene due to an unbearable smell in the building. According to local residents, surveillance camera footage shows that Buava had not left the house since August 23. Neighbors suspect that the Abkhaz blogger had been dead for four days.

"Yesterday morning, the girl living above me wrote that there was a terrible smell in the building. It was stuffy, it smelled like rotten meat. We thought that someone probably left the refrigerator off, and something spoiled. We called the rescuers, they arrived and found the deceased in the apartment. He was lying on the floor. He had severe swelling. It seems he wanted to ask for help but couldn't. He moved into this apartment last year, lived with his wife, then they separated," a neighbor said.

The body of Daur Buava has been sent for an autopsy, which should determine the cause of the young man's death. A case has been opened under Article 115 of the Criminal Code of Georgia - driving to suicide. This article in Georgia includes cases of death where the circumstances and possible violent nature are not initially established.

Daur Buava, due to his views, received numerous threats, and it is necessary to properly exclude the causes and circumstances of possible violence, said Tamta Mikheladze, head of the "Center for Social Justice" in connection with the death of the Abkhaz blogger.

According to Tamta Mikheladze, the investigative group must timely provide the public with information about the incident and thoroughly investigate the cause of death.

"It is extremely important for the investigation to timely provide the public with information about what happened and to thoroughly investigate the cause of death. As far as I know, Daur received numerous threats due to his position, and it is necessary to properly exclude the cause and circumstances of possible violence," Mikheladze said.

Daur Buava's friends say that the blogger systematically received threats. Those who did not share the deceased's views on reconciliation between Abkhaz and Georgians were particularly aggressive. One friend added that although there were threats, they did not go beyond social media.

"We founded the organization "AMRA" in the occupied territories, showing what is happening in Tbilisi, for example, commenting on events in Abkhazia, because of this, we all received threats, not just Daur, who was directly involved in this case. But these were just internet threats," said a friend of Buava.

A comrade of the blogger, Koba Chitava, notes that Buava tried to "lift the veil on the regime existing in occupied Abkhazia," and naturally had many opponents.

"Daur dealt with such delicate and serious topics that it would be frivolous to claim that there were or would be no threats. Of course, there were threats, although it is quite difficult to say this definitively. Daur was the first swallow in Georgian-Abkhaz relations, breaking the myth and stereotype that an Abkhaz is an enemy of a Georgian, and a Georgian is an enemy of an Abkhaz," Chitava stated.

The blogger moved to Georgia in 2021. In June 2022, the State Security Service of Abkhazia opened a criminal case against him on suspicion of treason. Buava published videos on TikTok promoting the joining of Abkhazia to Georgia as an autonomous republic, with the legal status enshrined in the constitution of Georgia, reports Sputnik Abkhazia.