Dmitry Menyaev, a 21-year-old transgender man and Russian citizen, was found dead in his brother’s apartment in Batumi on August 15.
Authorities are investigating the case under the “incitement to suicide” provision, which is commonly applied in Georgia when a person is found dead under unclear circumstances. Menyaev’s family, however, suspects that other people may have been involved in his death.
“The family maintains that his death was not related to suicide and assumes that other persons may have been involved in his death,” Zviad Markoidze, the family lawyer, told Interpressnews. “The family suspects murder rather than suicide,” he said in separate remarks with RFE/RL’s Georgian Service.
Markoidze said that Menyaev, a Russian citizen who had lived in Georgia since 2022, was last active on Telegram on August 3. His body was discovered on August 15 after neighbors alerted the police to a strong odor coming from his apartment, according to media reports.
According to the lawyer, Menyaev lived alone and had no known illnesses or other problems that, in the family’s view, would explain his death.
An initial examination found no apparent signs of violence on the body, Markoidze said. He noted, however, that the final forensic findings are still pending.
Markoidze cited an expert as saying that there were no traces of violence on the body, but the lawyer noted the body was examined about 12 days after Menyaev’s presumed death, making it impossible to identify smaller injuries.
The family has reportedly requested to be recognized as an injured party, which would allow them to access the case materials, and has called for the case to be reclassified.
Separately, the victim’s brother also told TV Pirveli about his suspicions that Menyaev may have been killed. Per the translation provided by the channel, the brother said the apartment was found in disarray, and that evidence at the scene appeared inconsistent with the initial suggestion of suicide, raising suspicions that another person may have been present.
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