Pension is Refused to Appoint to the Military Man hit in Military Accident

22-year-old Zviad Jakheli was injured during military service. He served as a corporal of a military inferior in Senaki Infantry II. Having been got into a car crash Zviad Jakheli was condemned of military service. He is not aided by any kind allowances and does not receive military pension either.

Zviad Jakheli was got into a car-crash on Tbilisi-Gori high-way on the 3rd June. He was transporting Captain Murad Sabiashvili. Zviad jakheli remembers only the following from the day. “The captain and I were returning from Tbilisi. We had taken a military servant there. We were too tired and had not slept for three days. I remember nothing after the captain set at the steering wheel.”

The injured were initially aided in Gori hospital, and then they were taken to military hospital. Zviadi’s mother, Madona Jakheli says: «We found out that my son was not driving the car at the hospital, but they warned us not to speak up, otherwise he might be arrested for letting the captain to drive the car.”

The notification, issued to Jakheli proves that the Corporal Jakheli was injured by some military trauma. However, it is enough neither for receiving military pension nor other allowances. “My son can not work physically any more, I have the only son and he has become disabled. Let them apportion at least military pension to him to spend on his treatment.”

Zviad Jakheli’s mother says that the lawyer of the infantry and the captain demanded her to be silent. “Don’t speak up to anyone, we will arrange everything ourselves. They used to tell me this in the hospital.” She speaks about some other deals too. “The captain told me, when the case would be closed in Gori it will be transferred to Military Police and we will help you in everything. Before that he offered me to share the expenses in car-repairing. My son was not driving the car and why I was to share the expenses?” Madona Jakheli now says that the lawyer of the Infantry has forbidden her to call him.

Bakur Bolkvadze, lawyer of Zviad Jakheli from ‘Human Rights Information and Documentation Centre’ states that “It is doubtless that military car with Corporal Zviad Jakheli and Captain Murad Sabiashvili in it, left the unit territory to carry out official order. If Captain Murad Sabiashvili was on a business leave, (as it is shown in the notification issued by the unit) and according to this notification the Central Military Hospital issued the certificate where it is noted that ‘he received the trauma while carrying out military order’. We wonder why the similar notification was not issued to Corporal Jakheli. On the 13th August we applied to the administration of the military unit; however there is no reply yet”
 
Besides military pension Zviad Jakheli must receive a single aid. However he was efused to be aided. “According to the Georgian President’s declaration, Article 53, on the social insurance and material welfare of the officials within Georgian Ministry of Justice and citizens, the military servant should receive a single financial aid if he is injured during carrying out his military obligations. The allowance should equal the total amount of his salary for five-year period.”-said Bakur Bolkvadze, the lawyer of Jakheli.

Mamia Arjevanidze, the lawyer of the Senaki Military Infantry II within Georgian Defense Ministry stated about Jakheli’s case in our conversation on phone the following: “The application is replied. They have not been aided yet because they had a one-month period under law.”

Mamia Arjevanidze got angry when we asked why he had forbidden Madona Jakheli to call him and then he invited us to the unit to talk personally: “If you want to discuss the case come to the unit. What I can do when you call from Adjara. I don’t want to speak to you any more” and disconnected the line.

The car-crash has still been investigated by Shida Kartli and Samtskhe-Javakheti main department. “The case has not been dropped yet, but we will send it to Regional Prosecutor’s Office and the investigation will be continued there. Zviadi was officially to drive the car, but the car turned round for several times. Both of them were dropped out of the car. Thus I can not say who was driving,”-said investigator Gocha Oktopiridze on the phone.

As for the fact why Zviad Jakheli was not questioned, the investigator answered: “Jakheli was ill and because of that he was not questioned.”

Maka Malkmadze, Batumi