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Press-Conference at Human Rights Center – Convicted Person Blames Roland and Bacho Akhalaias

March 25, 2013

Human Rights Center requests the Chief Prosecutor’s Office to study appeal statements of the convicted Mamuka Zarkua and victim Madona Kacharava and start investigation to estimate truth in criminal case.

Mamuka Zarkua has been in prison for tenth year already and claims he has been subjected to torture and inhuman treatment several times. He also claims that prosecutor’s office and former regional prosecutor of Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti region Roland Akhalia were interested in his imprisonment.

Mamuka Zarkua does not plead guilty. He was convicted for the robbery which ended with the murder. The widow of the murdered person Madona Kacharava states Zarkua is not guilty and names real murderer. Mamuka Zarkua mentioned same people as murderers in his interview with HRC.

During imprisonment, Mamuka Zarkua personally estimated the people, who allegedly committed the crime, found out their names and addresses. One of them was inmate of the same penitentiary establishment where Zarkua was serving his term. Other members of the organized criminal group were residents of the village, where the accident occurred.

Mamuka Zarkua said before imprisonment the Abasha district prosecutor demanded him to pay a bribe. Otherwise he threatened him with imprisonment as he already had criminal record. When robbery and murder happened in Ontopo village in Abasha district, the prosecutor’s office kept its promise. The convicted person alleges he has been tortured since his delivery to the police station. Police officers demanded him to plead guilty. Later, Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti regional prosecutor’s office also took up the case and regional prosecutor Roland Akhalia personally visited him in prison, the convicted claims. Akhalaia promised him to impose minimal punishment if he pleaded guilty but in other case, he threatened to turn his life into a hell.

Mamuka Zarkua told HRC representative how he was beaten and tortured in Kutaisi prison # 2 and associates it with Roland Akhalaia’s threats. He said the former penitentiary minister Bacho Akhalaia also visited him in Kutaisi prison and the convicted told him he was innocent. After this meeting he was ruthlessly beaten and placed in the cell in unconscious conditions. He was beaten several times later on and finally the prisoner sewed his mouth up in protest. Afterwards, he was taken to Rustavi prison # 6 where Bacho Akhalia personally beat him and broke his teeth.

“I was beaten each time when I filed complaints. Despite that I did not quit writing complaints. I was moved to Rustavi Prison # 17 in 2009 where I felt very bad because of hunger. At the same time, I got sick with tuberculosis and finally I was sent to the tub-zone,” the convicted person said.

Nowadays, the prisoner is in Rustavi prison # 17. He petitioned to different state institutions and governmental officials with regard to his case but nobody has responded to his complaints so far.

Human Rights Center supports the convicted person in his principle petition – to start investigation into the information he holds and interrogate the aforementioned people.

The prisoner had been requesting to investigate the case and circumstances of the crime which he might not have committed. Meanwhile, he contacted several investigators and prosecutors, who were telling him in private talks that they knew he was not guilty but could not assist him.

Human Rights Center petitioned to the chief prosecutor’s office several times but they were usually forwarded to Senaki district prosecutor’s office for further proceedings though clearly they are not going to launch any investigations into the case.

Human Rights Center also holds appeal statements of the victim person, who requested to estimate the truth in the case in 2012 and 2013 and to punish real murderers. The widow names the people, who allegedly committed the crime though despite these arguments, no investigation has been launched so far.

On March 26, Human Rights Center will hold a press-conference on Mamuka Zarkua’s case and will repeatedly request the Chief Prosecutor’s Office to take measures envisaged under Criminal Procedural Code of Georgia and to respond to them in order to finally estimate the truth in this criminal case.

Human Rights Center

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