A women, Whose Son Was Killed, Is now Seen as a Person Dangerous to Society

A women, Whose Son Was Killed, Is now Seen as a Person Dangerous to Society

Why is Sakvarelidze’s case not fully investigated?

Today, for the family of David Sakvarelidze, a young man that became a victim of the Rose Revolution, finding justice is as difficult as the tragic day of 22 November 2003 when he was killed. Georgian law enforcement bodies are using every method imaginable to maintain the bloodless image of the Rose Revolution. Mariam Sakvarelidze, the mother of the deceased, remains under heavy pressure from the law-enforcement organs and the President’s personal bodyguards with psychological pressure both mounting and unbearable.

On 22 November 2003, a motor vehicle collision between the special vehicle JTR, belonging to the Instant Reaction Department of the then Security Ministry, and a BMW resulted in the death of two people, 23-year-old David Sakvarelidze and Eter Shioshvili, the mother of three children. From that time, Mariam Sakvarelidze, David Sakvarelidze’s mother, supported by Eter Sakvarelidze’s sister, is asking for the punishment of the people involved in the death of her son.  Mrs Sakvarelidze remains under heavy pressure from the law-enforcement agencies and has had her life threatened on numerous occasions.

Pressure from the law-enforcement bodies began on 10 March 2004 when Mariam Sakvarelidze was summoned to the Security Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and offered money instead of the withdrawal of her law suit from the court. Having seen that they could not achieve anything by this, however, the law enforcement officials began started threatening her openly. One of the Security stuff, Officer Achiko Mamageishvili, threatened her openly, saying in an intimidating way: “With us you are powerless and will not be able to achieve anything.”

Mrs. Sakvarelidze has been fighting for a year and a half in order to find justice. In spite of the numerous letters that she had sent to many different governmental officials with the request for some assistance, she has not received any response.

After repeated tries and, quite by accident, Mrs. Sakvarelidze managed to meet President Saakashvili twice in person and to tell him about her tragedy and ask him for assistance. The President told her that he was aware of this fact and promised her to lend assistance in conducting unbiased investigation. The promise, however, has remained unfulfilled.

It should also be noted that since Mrs. Sakvarelidze met the President in person, his bodyguards have changed twice and Mrs. Sakvarelidze is now the object of constant pressure and surveillance from the new bodyguards. Attending a parade on 26 May 2004, as she approached the State Chancellary Building, she was forcibly placed by guards into a car and taken away from the surrounding area. On 9 April 2004, during the opening ceremony of Sobchak’s monument, the guards locked her up in a room to prevent her from meeting Mikheil Saakashvili and let her out only after the President left.

As Mariam Sakvarelidze herself said in her conversation with us, the President’s bodyguards were given a special leaflet with her pictures to be able to recognise her and not let her close to the President. It seems the President does not like seeing those miserable people because of which the glossy image of his much-praised and all-acknowledged Velvet Revolution gets tarnished. The President ignores the facts, as well as the people, suffering from the tragedy. 

“Judging from everyone’s attitude to the case, Mariam Sakvarelidze is being treated as someone dangerous to society. Everyone should understand that it is very natural when a mother, whose son was killed, will not easily reconcile to the fact and will by all means try to find the justice in order that the guilty people be punished. But so far no progress has been made in the connection with this case that will cast some light on the issue and it is obvious that the case is being protracted”, said Nona Kalandadze, Mrs Sakvarelidze’s attorney.

It should also be noted that after the visit of President Bush, Mrs. Sakvarelidze has been constantly summoned to the Security Department where she has been interrogated in regards to the grenade found on near Freedom Square on 10 May during the speeches by the two presidents. It must be known, however, that Mrs. Sakvarelidze, together with her family, was at the graveyard on this day given the fact that it was All Soul’s Day. Further, Mrs. Sakvarelidze’s brother was approached by the Security officials for a ‘man-to-man talk’ but the family has no idea what these words could mean. After waiting for the officials for five hours, Mrs. Sakvarelidze’s brother was told that they had no time and the ‘manly talk’ failed.

“It is unclear to me why I am considered to be a dangerous person for the country. I am just a miserable mother asking simply for the punishment of my son’s killer” said Mrs. Sakvarelidze.

Nino Bestavashvili