ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, February 16, 1997 TAG: 9702170100
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-18 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
SOURCE: DONNA ABU-NASR ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
In a rare move, the Republic of Georgia lifted immunity for the second-ranking diplomat in its Washington embassy, clearing the way for his arrest in a fatal car crash, the State Department said Saturday.
George Makharadze could be charged with crimes reportedly as serious as involuntary manslaughter in the death of 16-year-old Joviane Waltrick.
``This is an unusual case,'' State Department spokesman Nicholas Burns said. ``There are very few instances in diplomatic history where a government has lifted diplomatic immunity in a case like this, where the charges are so serious.
``We're very gratified. ... We think this is the best step forward, and we're very, very appreciative to the government of Georgia,'' Burns said.
At the crash site Saturday, Viviane Wagner, the girl's mother said, ``Immunity is not impunity. ... Was it necessary for my daughter to have left for people to understand?''
Wagner, a Brazilian immigrant, has campaigned since the accident to force a decision in the immunity case.
She has held nightly vigils at the flower-strewn site of the collision on downtown Dupont Circle and has passed out leaflets urging people to bring flowers or to write to authorities and demand justice for her daughter.
Wagner called Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze ``a man of courage'' for waiving Makharadze's diplomatic immunity, and the United States ``a country of justice.''
The next step in the legal process facing Makharadze is for the Justice Department to file formal charges, Burns said.
The case has drawn immense public interest in the Washington area since the Jan. 3 crash in the city center.
Makharadze's car slammed into the back of a car and sent it into the air and onto a third vehicle in which the Waltrick girl was a passenger.
She died at a local hospital. Police said Makharadze, 35, had been drinking and appeared to have been speeding.
The Clinton administration officially asked the Georgian government to waive Makharadze's diplomatic immunity after the prosecutor said he could not bring charges without the waiver. U.S. Attorney Eric Holder's letter to the State Department also specified charges Makharadze would face, but the charges were not publicized.
A television station and newspapers reported, however, that the letter said the government would seek a charge of involuntary manslaughter in the teen-ager's death.
LENGTH: Medium: 55 lines KEYWORDS: FATALITYby CNB