Categories
Journalistic Survey
Articles
Reportage
Analitic
Photo Reportage
Exclusive
Interview
Foreign Media about Georgia
Editorial
Position
Reader's opinion
Blog
Themes
Children's Rights
Women's Rights
Justice
Refugees/IDPs
Minorities
Media
Army
Health
Corruption
Elections
Education
Penitentiary
Religion
Others

Trial on Bachana Akhalaia Was Closed

April 29, 2013

Salome Chkheidze

An attendee verbally assaulted witness Zviad Abesadze at the trial on Bachana Akhalaia and others’ case; bailiffs demanded the attendee to leave the courtroom that caused disorder in the hall and finally the judge decided to close the hearing.

The witness was saying that Kalandadze and Akhalaia had physically assaulted him. Witness Zviad Abesadze recalled events from 2011 when Bachana Akhalaia and Giorgi Kalandadze verbally and physically assaulted him. According to Abesadze, he first met Akhalaia in 2006 and soon he even asked Akhalaia to baptize his son. Unfortunately, soon their relation worsened allegedly for his changed political affiliation.

During interrogation, Zviad Abesadze said that in September of 2011 a stranger called him on the phone and insulted. Similar incident repeated several times after what Abesadze switched off the phone. Before switching off the phone, Abesadze also wrote him the insulting words. As the witness recalled, half an hour later second godfather of his son Grigol Bakuradze visited him at him and asked to accompany him to the restaurant where Bacho Akhalaia was waiting for him.

According to the testimony, Abesadze and Bakuradze arrived at a restaurant in Ortachala where Bacho Akhalaia and several other people were sitting in a closed room.

“I entered and greeted Akhalaia. He did not shake hand with me. I immediately realized that he had not invited me to a party. Bacho showed me the place to sit and asked me whether I knew the man sitting next to me. I said I did not know him and Akhalaia said I had to know him because he was Gigi Kalandadze – general and hero of the war. He also told me it was the man whom I had sent insulting sms. After that the security guards caught me and Kalandadze was beating me during 15-20 minutes,” Abesadze said during the interrogation.

The witness also added that Akhalaia asked him in the restaurant whether he wanted to give his car to the penitentiary department and Abesadze agreed hoping they would stop beating him after that; he called his wife and asked to give the car to Gaga Mkurnalidze.

“They demanded me to kneel down and apology to Gigi. I told them I would never do it even if they killed me. That time chairman of the penitentiary department Chakua replied to me that it would not be first time for him to kill a man. Initially Kalandadze was beating me with hand but when he got tired, he started throwing things at me. Akhalaia also hit me with gun in the head. Afterwards he shouted Kalandadze to stop but he continued beating me; they even argued about it,” Abesadze said.

The witness added that finally Kalandadze stopped his harassment and Akhalaia ordered Gaga Mkurnalidze to take Abesadze and lock him somewhere. The witness said Mkurnalidze took him to a flat in Mukhiani settlement and left him there till that evening. Abesadze recalled that he had many injuries on the face. In the evening Mkurnaldze brought a balsam to cure his wounds.

“It was relief for me because I understood they were not going to kill me. Mkurnalidze told me he would have released me but he was waiting for something – supposedly Akhalaia’s order. Indeed, they took me back to Ortachala late at night. Mkurnalidze said they were going to let me go but demanded me not to speak about the incident to anybody. They even returned the car to me. Maybe because it was registered on my brother, which was mortgaged in the bank,” Abesadze said.

Abesadze said he had not left home during 10 days because he was taking medical treatment; he did not apply to doctors to avoid complication of the situation.

The defense side asked witness questions about his testimony and visit to the prosecutor’s office; however, the witness denied allegation about having read his initial testimony or any other circumstance besides his official visit to the prosecutor’s office.

During the interrogation process the audience and the accused people were creating noise. The judge demanded the audience to keep order several times and finally he closed the process.

News