Categories
Journalistic Survey
Articles
Reportage
Analitic
Photo Reportage
Exclusive
Interview
Foreign Media about Georgia
Editorial
Position
Reader's opinion
Blog
Themes
Children's Rights
Women's Rights
Justice
Refugees/IDPs
Minorities
Media
Army
Health
Corruption
Elections
Education
Penitentiary
Religion
Others

Patrol Inspectors Beat Watchman and Then Detained Him

February 14, 2007

patruli.gifHuman Rights Center demanded to launch a criminal case against Vakhtang Zatikashvili and Giorgi Naskidashvili, inspectors of the Patrol Police Kakheti Regional Department.

Lali Chamiashvili, a resident of the village of Akhasheni in the Gurjaani district, applied to the Human Rights Center for help. In the evening of October 21, 2006 patrol inspectors physically assaulted her husband, Igor Chamiashvili, who worked as a watchman for the wine warehouse and then detained him for robbery.

Igor Chamiashvili said in his testimony that at that night he left the watchman room for some time to fetch water. Coming back, he saw a strange car in the yard. The door to the room, he had locked, was open. Two young men and two women were in the room. They had laid the table and were drinking alcohol.

“One boy was tall and thin. The second was a bit shorter and stouter. The shorter told me they wanted to stay alone with the women and if I could find any bed for them. I refused him saying similar action was prohibited in the area. But for the second time he was firm in his demands and I led him to the wine cellar. Another tall boy remained in my room with another woman. I was waiting for them in the yard. A coat was hanging on the car and I replaced it and hung on the branch of the nearest tree. Having left the room, they asked about the coat and I showed them it. They searched the coat and said there was not money in the pocket. I said I did not know anything about the money. They beat me severely; hit me with something blunt too. Finally they called for the police and detained. I learned at the police station that those boys were patrol policemen,” said Chamiashvili in his testimony during the preliminary investigation.

The conclusion of the expert Kantroshvili confirmed the fact of Chamiashvili’s physical assault. “The man is injured with hard, blunt thing. The injuries were made earlier than the accident is dated to in the case material,” said the expert.

Zatikashvili, who is a victim in the case materials, denied Chamiashvili’s accusations against him. “On October 21, at about 22:00 PM, my colleague and I were going to Telavi by Giorgi Naskidashvili’s car. A strange boy stopped us near the village of Akhasheni. We pulled down the car and the boy asked us to let him use our mobile phone. I gave him my phone, he dialed some number but he could not get through. Then he invited us to have a glass of wine in a watch-house 30 meters away from us. Initially we refused, but later he begged us too eagerly and we followed him in our car. Two strange young women were in the room when we entered. The table was laid and they were having a party. We stopped the car in the yard; however we did not switched off the engine since we were going to leave the room soon. We made a toast with a glass of wine but did not drink anything. At that time, a man entered the room that turned out a watchman, as we found out later. He greeted us; he drank a glass of wine and left the room. Giorgi and I left the place soon and there I noticed that a coat, I had left on the back seat in the car, was not on the place. I saw Igor running away and holding a coat in his hand. As a result, we called police and Chamiashvili was detained for robbery. …Nobody assaulted him. When he was running he fell over something and maybe injured himself at that moment,” said Zatikashvili.

Journalist: Do you know who those women were in the watch room? Or who was the boy who invited you to have a drink?

Zatikashvili: I cannot recognize the boy and the women who were there, because we spent too little time there. Then we draw our attention to the robbery and could not examine their faces properly. The women were of about 25-30 years old.

The investigator questioned Giorgi Naskidashvili as a witness. He made the similar testimony as Zatikashvili. “Entering the watch-room we did not drink anything because Vakho had a lung fever and was taking some medicines. As for me, I was driving a car and refused to drink anything,” said Naskidashvili, who added that neither he could recognize the boy who had invited them to the room and the women who met them there.

According to the lawyer for the accused, Lia Khuroshvili, the investigator for the Internal Ministry’s Gurjaani office, Gogita Atanelishvili, did not find it necessary to estimate the identities of the people who were in the watch-room during the incident and sent the incomplete material to the court. “Igor Chamiashvili said in his testimony that he is ready to recognize the girls. He said that patrol policemen brought those women to the room to have a fun. Chamiashvili pointed out in one of his testimonies that leaving the room, one of the women with fair hair, told him that the tall boy was her husband. The watchman argued her saying generally husbands do not take their wives to the watch-rooms. For these words Zatikashvili hit him in the stomach once more,” said Lia Khuroshvili.

It must be pointed out that other citizens also complain about Zatikasvhili. Some time ago, some policeman restricted the freedom of Diana Kachlishvili and Zurab Imerlishvili with their little children. The policeman did not let them get out of the car for some time near Sagarejo. However, Zatikashvili still works at the patrol police.

The Gurjaani District Court is about to discuss the Chamiashvili’s case one of these days.

Gela Mtavlishvili, Kakheti

News