Nino Andriashvili, a lawyer at the non-governmental organization Human Rights Center, represents as an attorney Lasha Chkhenkeli and Malkhaz Gvelukashvili in the criminal case against them. At the trial the accused Lasha Chkhenkeli had injuries on his nose and both eyes. The accused said in private conversations that he was physically abused in order to compel him to plead guilty. However, in official documents he wrote that the injuries on his face were incurred before the detention. Witnesses rule out this possibility because they had seen Lasha Chkhenkeli before detention and he had not bruises at all.

Besides that, the accusation protocols against both detainees state that they are members of the movement “Alliance for Kingdom of Georgia”. However, the prosecutor explained they do not have any evidence to prove it. Both detainees testified at the trial that they do not belong to any political part and had never been members of any party. Malkhaz Gvelukashvili is the founder of the “Public Movement – Georgia” though the movement is not officially registered. Nevertheless, print media and national TV Channels mention accused as members of political parties and spread false information about them.

The Human Rights Center is concerned about the situation and demands to conduct immediate expert examinations of the detainee Lasha Chkhenkeli.

The Human Rights Center