Substantial Discussion of Bachana Akhalaia’s Case in the Episode of Prison Riot to Start

Salome Chkheidze

Tbilisi City Court scheduled substantial discussion of Bachana Akhalaia’s case. The case refers to the episode of prison riot on March 27, 2006. Chief Prosecutor’s Office blames Bacho Akhalaia in the abuse of professional power during the riot in Ortachala Prison # 5. In the moment of the riot, Akhalaia was head of the penitentiary department. 

On July 17, pretrial session on the episode of prison riot was held at Tbilisi City Court. Admissibility of the evidence provided by the prosecutor and defense side was discussed at the session. Judge Davit Jugeli declined several evidence provided by the prosecutor, which were not handed to the defense side, though he did not satisfy the solicitation on dropping the accusation and set the date for substantial discussion.

In the same case, Megis Kardava, Davit Chakua and Rezo Charbadze are also accused of the misuse of the professional power and inhuman treatment of prisoners together with Bachana Akhalaia. Those three people are sought now. Only Bachana Akhalaia attended the session, who refused to allow court jury to discuss his case. The substantial discussion of the case is scheduled at 12:00 pm on July 31. 

Prosecutor’s Office spread statement regarding the issue.

“Investigation estimated that in spring of 2006, Bachana Akhalaia decided to hash away rumors and information spread about physical assault and degrading of prison inmates by him when being drunk. He made a plan and shared it with the so-called thief-in-law P. Mamardashvili. Akhalaia told him he had to meet prisoner Zurab Vibliani, so called “supervisor” of the prison, in the prison corridor in front of the preliminarily installed video-camera. Mamardashvili had to speak with Vibliani about unbearable conditions created for criminal lords in the prison and had to blame Akhalaia in it. Then he had to offer Vibliani to find an inmate who would have injured himself and then complained as if Akhalaia had physically assaulted him. Afterwards, Akhalaia would have published the video-footage of Vibliani and Mamardashvili’s conversation to convince society that the spread rumors about inhuman treatment of prison inmates were invented by criminal lords to discredit the penitentiary department.

According to the prosecutor’s office, indeed, Mamardashvili and Vibliani met but the former did not implement Akhalaia’s order and said nothing in front of the camera. In order to revenge him, at 1:00 am on March 27, 2006 Bachana Akhalaia together with Megis Kardava and Revaz Charbadze, director of Prison # 7 Giorgi Poladashvili and several members of special unit entered the jail hospital and demanded to bring convicted P. Mamardasvhili and Z. Vibliani to the director’s working room to punish them. They also brought convicted Giorgi Avaliani and Levan Tsindeliani to the same room to camouflage the physical assault of the other two. Akhalaia showed Mamardashvili the video-footage and told him he would be punished for not implemented instruction. Afterwards, Megis Kardava started to cut off Mamardashvili’s hair to discredit him in front of other criminals and put it in his pocket. Then Akhalaia tried to provoke them by asking the date – Avaliani responded to him that he also knew the date and Akhalaia puked him in the face. Avaliani slapped him in the face and after that Akhalaia, Charbadze, Kardava and special unit officers beat Avaliani, Vibliani and Mamardashvili. In parallel to it, Akhalaia called special unit of the Penitentiary Department to the jail hospital. They dragged beaten prisoners to the prison yard and ruthlessly beat them in front of other prisoners.

According to the investigation, prison inmates actively protested illicit activities of Bachana Akhalaia and other senior officials of the administration and their protest turned into riot. On that night, inmates of neighboring penitentiary establishments # 5 and # 1 rebelled. 

For the crime Bachana Akhalaia is charged under Article 332 Part III –“b” and “c” of the Criminal Code of Georgia (abuse of power),” the statement of the Chief Prosecutor’s Office reads.