An Arrested General Demands to be Set Free

Nona Salaghaia

General Koba Kobaladze who was arrested and charged with revolution has already been starving for 14 days. He was sentenced to two months of pretrial detention.

He on the second day of this detention he resorted to this extreme measure to express his protest. Kobaladze demands to be set free. According to his lawyer, Gela Nikoleishvili, the Kobaladze denies the charge and thinks that he is a victim. The distrustfulness of the government was caused by Kobaladze having gained great authority in the Military Service. It was planned to push him aside. The Security Service fulfilled the plan in May.

 Gela Nikoleishvili, the lawyer for Kobaladze, gave an interview about the arrest and the health condition of the former commander of the National Guards.

-What is the condition of the person who has been arrested?

Gela Nikoleishvili:

-He has already been starving for two weeks and so he feels weak but he is not going to stop starving until his innocence will be proved and he will be free.

-What is the reason for his having been arrested?

-Kobaladze was arrested on the basis of the testimony of Gia Ghvaladze who was arrested on May 14 and was a former commander of the detached force Delta. This is the only testimony which is in the case of Kobaladze. According to Ghvaladze, their meeting was held at one of the restaurants where Kobaladze was talking to him about a upcoming coup d’etat. According to Ghvaladze the meeting was held in March, but he could not say the exact date. I think it is remarkable is  that Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili mentioned in his statement in January how long Kobaladze can walk freely. He indicated that Kobaladze would be arrested.

-What do you think: why did Koba Kobaladze become an unwelcome person for the government, irrespective of his merit and that he was in Military Service to protect his country?

-According to Kobaladze, before arresting him the police 3 times sent the representatives of the Interior Ministry to him and asked him to leave the country. To the question why he had to leave the country, the policemen answered that he had  great authority in the army and in case the situation escalated they did not trust that he would not use his authority against the government.

-What do you think: how will the situation develop? Do you have any hope that  Kobaladze will prove his innocence?

 -I do not have any hope now. It will be very difficult to prove his innocence because the people in poser do not want to set him free. Only after changing the government  will it be possible to set him free.

General Kobaladze has been in military service for over 15 years. He is one of the creators of the National Guard. He participated in the wars of Abkhazia and Samachablo where he was wounded and he has been sitting in wheelchairs for 6 months. He has been rewarded with 3 medals of Gorgasali. His military career was finished soon after the Rose Revolution.

The charge has not been proven that in 2005  Kobaladze was involved in financial machination and was going to make a coup d’etat,. After this, the General made a complaint in the Civil Court against Merabishvili’s Office. The court found his complaint to be true. According to the decision, the Security Office had to apologize publicly to Kobaladze, which was done in the newspaper Alia.

After the presidential inauguration, General Kobaladze moved from military service to business. The General, who was a hero, is starving in Gldani prison under  the charge of  revolution and he demands to prove his innocence.