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Patrol Policeman Crashed Twenty-Year-Old Boy by Car

April 25, 2007

giga_carbaze.gif“Prosecutor’s brother protects the killer of my brother.”

On March 25 terrible car accident happened in Telavi. Besik Mrelashvili, a patrol policeman, crashed twenty-year-old Giga Charbadze in the town center. Mrelashvili was drunk when driving his own car. Badly injured Charbadze died in the hospital. Having arrived at the scene of accident, patrol policemen tried to hush up the crime and made fraudulent documents as investigation materials show. However, the prosecutor’s office has not charged them yet. Besik Mrelashvili is not detained either; he paid 25 000 lari as a bail. (Photo: Giga Charbadze)

“It was Sunday. Giga was going to Tbilisi on the next day. He was a third-year-student at the Zoo-Vet University. That evening he parted with his friend and was going back home. Crossing the street a car, that was driving too fast, crashed him,” said Giga Charbadze’s mother, Tamar Charbadze.

Many people witnessed the accident because satellite TV channel had installed a video-eye in the area and the details of the car-accidents were transmitted alive.

Patrol policemen, who stayed anonymous in the interest of the investigation, having arrived at the scene, did not detain their colleague, Mrelishvili. Moreover, they tested him on alcohol and it showed that he was sober. Meanwhile, the badly injured Giga Charbadze was taken to district hospital by ambulance.

“Giorgi Charbadze was unconscious and badly injured after the car accident. Doctors could not contact with him. He had a closed trauma in his brain, his right leg was broken and had atonal coma. As far as I know, he died several hours after he was brought to the hospital,” said Vasil Kobiashvili, the head of the Telavi Medical Aid Service.

According to the official information, Besik Mrelashvili appeared at the Kakheti Regional Prosecutor’s Office together with his lawyer on March 26 at 4:00 PM. “The prosecutor’s Office does not have information where Mrelashvili had been before that. Patrol Policemen should have detained him on the scene of accident and carried out all necessary activities envisaged under the law. The car should have been taken to the penalty car-park and Mrelashvili should not have been allowed to go on driving the car,” said Vazha Maghradze, Deputy Prosecutor of the Kakheti Regional Prosecutor’s Office.

Mrelashvili was sent to the Telavi Addiction Clinic to test on alcohol. “The test showed that Mrelashvili was slightly drunk, however he did not agree with the test conclusion. Thus we applied to the Tbilisi Addiction Service Department for help and its examination concluded that Mrelashvili was seriously drunk. So, he seems to have been seriously drunk during the accident,” said the prosecutor.

On March 26 the Kakheti Regional Prosecutor’s Office launched criminal case on the accident.  According to Zurab Begiashvili, the investigator, the criminal case was launched under the Georgian Criminal Code, Article 276, Section VI that envisages breaking of the traffic or exploitation rules, committed by a drunk person that resulted into the death of a person. The crime is charged by nine-year-imprisonment.

Officials from the Prosecutor’s Office say that they applied to the Telavi District Court to sentence Mrelashvili to two-month pre-trial detention, however, Judge Lia Otarashvili did not satisfy the prosecutor’s mediation and bailed Mrelashvili for 15 000 lari.  The judge defined her decision by the fact that the prosecutor did not introduce enough proofs against the accused to sentence him to imprisonment.

Nobody makes comment on the court’s position regarding the incident at the Kakheti Regional Prosecutor’s Office. Neither representatives of the Kakheti Patrol Police Station want to comment on the fact.

Besik Mrelashvili denies the accusations against him. He says that the car-accident happened because of the dead boy’s fault; he crossed the street when the car was driving along. “Mrelashvili was not a patrol policeman; He worked at the Eastern Department for Internal Ministry’s Service Agency. His responsibility was to register cars, etc. It is not right either as if the car-accident was transmitted on TV alive. As for Mrelashvili, he was not drunk during the accident. The conclusion made by Chemical-Toxicological Expertise on April 2, 2007 states that 2,2 ethyl alcohol was discovered in urine and not in blood and it could not estimate how much drunk he was.  However, the medical expertise conclusion made on March 26, 2007 states that 2, 25 ethyl alcohol was discovered in Charbadze’s blood. That amount of the alcohol means that the man was seriously drunk. The case materials prove that the car-accident happened in the middle of the street. According to the legislation, we offered reconciliation to the victim side but they categorically refused. At present the car is going to be examined auto-technically and it will show us the rate of guiltiness. As for the information, as if defendant side influences the friends of the dead boy, is false. Telavi District Court only bailed Mrelashvili for the accident, because there were not enough evidences against him.  If Adeishvilis protected him, the Prosecutor’s Office should not have appealed against the verdict of the first instance court. The Appeal Court did not change the Telavi District Court’s decision, though it increased the bail with ten thousand lari. As for those patrol policemen who examined Mrelashvili on the scene of crime, we cannot say anything about their impartial behavior. They should be blamed for any violation they have committed,” said Tamar Metreveli, lawyer for Mrelashvili.

The victim family blames the court for partiality. Besides that, Zaza Charabadze, the father of the dead boy, explained why patrol policemen did not detain Mrelashvili on the scene. “They have quite close relationship with acting Prosecutor-General and his brother Davit Adeishvili. If our estimations were not right, whenever it happened that a person, having killed someone, was bailed for the crime.  Mrelashvili’s father-in-law sent us message stating they were ready to compensate us for everything and bagged not to appeal against Mrelashvili. They are trying to influence the friends of my son and force them to hide the truth. Law enforcers have information about it but nobody reacts on it…Of course, we demand to punish the criminal severely,” said Zaza Charbadze.

The non-governmental organization Human Rights Center spread protest statements regarding the accident. “The information as if the prosecutor really wanted the court to sentence Mrelashvili to two-month pre-trial detention, is false. In fact, the prosecutor mediated on sentencing the accused to two-month detention because it could not have happened otherwise. The judge was obliged to satisfy the prosecutor’s mediation. If the prosecutor’s office produced insufficient evidences against the offender, it was done on purpose in order to have reason for not satisfying the mediation. According to our information, the decision was agreed upon with the Prosecutor-General’s Office and we are concerned with the fact that killers of young people are not detained yet; while juveniles, having stolen a toy, are detained in our country,” said representatives of the Human Right center and they call upon the corresponding bodies to react on the situation. We draw our attention to the fact that neither TV Companies got interested into this accident; only printed media is revealing the fact.

Gela Mtivlishvili, Kakheti

 

 

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