Bidzina Ivanishvili: “Give Us Facts and You Will See Reaction”

Saba Tsitsikashvili, Shida Kartli 

For the last one month more facts of physical assault and intimidation of citizens by the employees of Shida Kartli regional police, criminal police and State Security Service local offices have occurred. Representatives of Human Rights Center’s Gori office collected data about several incidents and presented them to the office of Prime Minister of Georgia. “Give those facts to us and you will see the reaction,” Prime-Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili said.

Intimidation of Directors

On June 8, representatives of the State Security Service summoned directors of Kaspi district public schools. Head of local Security Service office Giorgi Germisashvili called about 30 school directors to the local educational resource center; he met and interrogated them individually.

Directors of Kaspi Public Schools # 3 and # 4 – Mariam Koniashvili and Ketevan Khitaridze openly spoke about this meeting with the representatives of Human Rights Center’s Gori office. They said they entered Germisashvili’s room alone and he inquired about their working experience, education, their wish to re-occupy the position and other personal information. This interrogation took place a day before the election of the boards of tutors at schools.

Based on the information spread by Human Rights Center’s Gori office journalist of TV-Company Imedi asked question to the Minister of Education Giorgi Margvelashvili about the issue. The Minister said the spread information was not confirmed. However, he did not mention with whom he had checked the reliability of this information. The Minister had not talked with the aforementioned directors.

Several hours after Margvelashvili’s statement, Human Rights Center visited Manana Gejadze, director of public school in Metekhi village. She had also confirmed that she had met representative of the Security Service. “We all entered his room individually,” Gejadze said. Interviews with the school directors were audio-recorded by HRC. 

On June 20, Manana Gejadze was in the Kaspi district education center where she met head of the center Davit Zanguri. 

Having left the office, at 15:00 Manana Gejadze felt bad – she had heart-attack. Doctors of medical emergency service made infusion to her in the building of the Archive; then she was taken to Kaspi district hospital. Having left hospital, Gejadze refused to communicate Human Rights Center. 

Several days later, HRC met two more directors of public schools in Khovle and Doesi villages. They also confirmed information about meeting with the Security Service officer.

Abused Young Man

On May 31, 2013 police officers beat Levan Gogichashvili, 19, in Agara village in Kareli district. Next morning Gogichashvili was arrested and sentenced to 15-day administrative imprisonment. We read in the judgment: “Levan Gogichashvili verbally abused police officers and did not obey their legal orders. He also resisted them and hindered their professional activities.” The imposed charge was qualified in accordance to the Article 173 of the Administrative Code of Georgia.

Police officer Besik Zeinklishvili stated at the trial that he was performing his professional duties together with Avtandil Kharazishvili: “Levan Gogichashvili noticed our car and puked in our direction. When we called for him to behave correctly, he verbally assaulted police officers - he swore us. We could not arrest him on the place because he disappeared,” the testimony of the police officer reads. Second police officer confirmed the testimony.

District police inspector Davit Saralidze was also called to the trial. He said that Levan Gogichashvili had already served term in the past.

Levan Gogichashvili clarified at the trial that he did not notice police officers were sitting in the car standing nearby. “He just puked in the street” but not in the direction of the car, where apparently police officers were sitting. Gogichashvili said police officers had ruthlessly beaten him. 

Gogichashvili’s mother Irma Nozadze said: “There is a park near our house. I saw my son coming from there all in blood. I thought he had quarreled. I asked him go home and I went towards the park. I met police officers there and asked them what had happened. They said nothing had happened. I inquired how they could not notice what had happened with my son?! One of them said he had beaten my son. I immediately dialed emergency number 112 and called patrol police to record the incident. We called ambulance; doctors came and examined my son. The doctor warned me that if we would take him to hospital, we would have to pay money. I had neither money nor medical policy at that moment to cover hospital expenses. Then district inspector visited us at home and found out the situation. Why did not they immediately detain my son if they wanted to arrest him? The inspector found him at home. Next day they arrested my son and placed in the temporary detention setting to give time to disappear injuries.”

Emergency brigade doctor Zaza Egnatashvili was also questioned at the trial. He said Levan Gogichashvili refused to be hospitalized but did not have any injuries either. The judge relied on the doctor’s testimony and wrote in his decision that fact of physical assault by police officers was not confirmed.

“I wonder why the doctor said my son had refused to be hospitalized. If he had no problems, why did I call ambulance? How did I get this blood-stained t-shirt then?” asked the mother who added that aforementioned police officers have been persecuting her son for a long time. “At the age of 16 my son was imprisoned for the thievery of scrap-iron. He was amnestied short time ago. Since he was once convicted, police officers should always bother him? Nobody in our neighborhood will blame Levan for having insulted them. How could they beat him so ruthless?! It is not first occasion. When he is free, my son will tell you how he was taken to the river-bank and ruthlessly beaten there in the past. In order to destroy the trace, they gave him a new t-shirt and then let him go home,” Irma Nozadze said.

Khashuri district prosecutor’s office has already launched investigation into the fact. Public Defender’s Office also took up the case.