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Due to poor health condition the convict asks for help

May 18, 2015
 
Natia Gogolashvili

The convict Lasha Labadze, who is in the prison N18, due to poor health condition, asks for help. The prisoner has dramatically impaired vision and also requires a lower limb prosthetic. Humanrights.ge has talked to the convicts mother Luba Tatishvili.

“In this four years he suffered from severe tuberculosis twice. He has got Hepatitis C. He has an impaired vision. Under the previous government, they would take him to the hospital three times per month and gave him an eye treatment, so his condition wouldn’t become worse. Now they do absolutely nothing for him. He has 12% vision in one eye and 8% in the other one. Now they have started to treat him with medicine, but his eye is not subject to no surgery, nor glasses, thus he needs to be under the permanent treatment. He has constant suicide attempts since he was arrested. First he drank chlorine, then he injected something filthy into his leg, he had unbearable pains and was seeking for help. If they had took him to the hospital three days earlier, his leg would have been saved. But they transferred him only after they saw that his leg became black, thus it was necessary to amputate his leg.” _says Luba Tatishvili.

Human Rights Center has been protecting Lasha Labadze’s rights for almost two years now. The organization have sent a number of letters about the severe health condition of the convict to the Medical Department of the Ministry of Corrections and Legal Assistance. But there is no actual response to them. A lawyer Tamar Lukava protects Lasha Labadze’s rights.
 
“We have asked through letters to provide the consultation of ophthalmologist for the convict, because after putting him in prison his vision has worsened. After number of appeals, an ophthalmologist  visited and examined him. But according to the convict they do not give him the medications prescribed by the ophthalmologist and because of this his vision has become worse. It is worth to mention that I have repeatedly appealed in writing to the medical department about fastening the issue of making prosthetic appliance to the convict’s amputated leg. He is awaiting for the prosthetic appliance for almost a year and because of this he is unable to move freely. According to the response of the medical department, this issue will be resolved after the Head Physician of the prison’s (where the convict is placed) medical department sends a written request about making prosthetic appliance. This process is delayed, because, within the short period of time, the convict has been moved for several times to different penitentiary facilities by the Penitentiary Department.” _says Tamar Lukava.

According to the statement of Tamar Lukava,  Human Rights Center once again appeals to the Minister of Corrections and Legal Assistance, the chairperson of the medical department, about making prosthetic appliance to the Lasha Labadze’s left leg immediately. Human Right Center also addresses to the chairperson of the Penitentiary Department, about not to move the convict to the other prisons due to his severe health condition. 
 
Lasha Labadze has been serving his sentence for robbery since 2011, but he doesn’t plead guilty. It is worth to mention that in December 4 2010 Lasha Labadze was released but after few months he was arrested with new charges. “As soon as he was released from the prison he told me to sell everything to send him abroad. Everyone who has been released before, were sent back to the prison within maximum two months, he said. He was trying not to leave house alone, we were going out almost always together.” _recalls Luba Tatishvili. Now Labadze is sentenced to 21 years and 6 months. He has been serving his sentence for four months. Given the fact that his sentence has been reduced for 4 years, he has left 13 years to serve. 
 
According to his mother the robbery charges are ungrounded, because when the crime was committed, Lasha Labadze was not at the crime scene. 
 
“We spent whole day together on February 1st. As they say, approximately, the robbery took place at 17:30, at this time we were in Sameba and we walked by the Presidential Palace by half past five. The investigation charges Lasha for this period of time. My son has never had a weapon in his hands. Those two unidentified persons are not even arrested yet. Also there are mismatches in testimonies of the victims.  The court still is not paying attention to these circumstances. “_says Luba Tatishvili.

According to Luba Tatishvili, the prosecutor changed the charges during the trial and Lasha Labadze was accused for robbing a scrap-collecting point: “15-20 police officers broke into the room, some of them wearing uniforms some of them not. They attacked Lasha, twisted his hands and took him to the police department on Kukia. We went to the police department to find out the situation. Finally they called me, I didn’t know what he was accused for. They asked where were we during the day. They insisted that Lasha would cooperate with the investigation, also they were verbally abusing me. They told me that Casino Adjara was robbed, this was the original accusation. He was recognized by victims and witnesses they said. But during the trial the prosecutor has accused Lasha for different charges, in particular, robbing the scrap-collecting point located at Dadiani st.37. Near this place there is a beauty salon „Mari”, this salon has a basement (scrap-collecting point). When I went to the place, a stylist told me that they didn’t even know if there was anything functioning in that basement. “

As mother of the victim says, Lasha Labadze has psychological problems as well: “He was a cancer patient when he was 18, but as a result of the treatment he no longer has problems in this regard. Also he has psychological problems for a long time, he is psychologically unbalanced, he is not registered anywhere. I have two sisters, both of them are psychiatrists and there were prescribing him medications, I didn’t want this problem of his to become public. Even now he has prescription of anxiety drugs. “

Mother of the victim requests reinvestigation. As she says, it important the victims of the case to admit the truth. 

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