Former colonel, a legal owner of four arms was detained for carrying arms illegally; he is in pretrial detention.

Nona Salaghaia

Tbilisi  City Court sentenced accused Zaza Bregvadze, the former high-ranking officer of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and police colonel, to two-month pretrial imprisonment. According to the evidence collected during the preliminary investigation the Civil Court charged the accused Zaza Bregvadze for illegal purchase, storage and usage of arms so called Valteri and 5 military cartridges as well.

Zaza Bregvadze stated at the trial when he was sentenced to pretrial detention that police officers planted guns in his clothes and told him that it was their present for his friendship with Irakli Batiashvili and for taking part in the protest rallies actively. He also added that, he signed the testimony of pleading himself guilty under physiological oppression. Giorgi Goginashvili, the Judge, did not react on the shortcomings which took place during the detention of Bregvadze and while he was giving testimony. The accused stated about these wrongdoings at the court trial.

The judge did not satisfy the request of the defense side to release the accused under bail of 5000 GEL. Attorney Levan Samushia stated that Judge did not satisfy their request because the latter claimed the accused could destroy the evidence. The only proof, which was the basis for Bregvadze’s detention, is gun discovered in the building of Security Service that is claimed to be illegal. So we wonder what evidence could be destroyed by the suspect.

On May, 18 nearby Vake Park in Tbilisi when Zaza Bregvadze was going to Irakli Batiashvili’s place a car blocked his way and a driver required to stop his car. People sitting in his car told Bregvadze they were police officers and demanded to obey them. As Bregvadze later told to his lawyer, Levan Samushia, he did not expect to be detained and when the former colonel asked them why they were arresting him, the officers did not reply.

They forced him to get out the car and put him in the police car. Afterwards they took him to the blind alley 40 meters away. He insisted on being told why he was detained but the policemen suggested him to be patient. The policemen were interested in the weapon he was carrying legally and he gave it to them. He owns 4 guns legally. One of the guns was given to him by Vano Merabisvili as a present and the second one-by Zurab Zhvania, late Prime Minister of Georgia. After handing the gun, Bregvadze was asked: “Is Misha good man?”“Suddenly they put another weapon in my clothes and told me it was their present, I went crazy,” said Bregvadze. He asked them why they wanted to wreck him and what they wanted from him. Talking to Levan Samushia the detainee remembered the policemen told him that as he was taking part in the demonstrations with Irakli Batiashvili now he would have to relax in the custody for a while. He was told that brothers, Gorgiashvili, who are friends of Batiashvili and are taking part in the rallies, would find themselves in the same situation as Bregvadze.

After Bregvadze was arrested his and his close relative’s houses were searched. As a result of the search three guns were withdrawn from his house and Bregvadze had right to posses and carry these guns. Besides that, 400 bullets were also found in his house and those bullets belonged to those guns that were in legal possession of Bregvadze. The law enforcers could not find a single bullet of a gun which was supposedly deprived from him during the detention.

After the search, Attorney Levan Samushia, his friend Irakli Batiashvili and other competent people tried to identify the location of the detainee. Bregvadze met his attorney only after he signed so-called testimony and plead guilty. Bregvadze stated at the trial how the investigator made him to plead guilty. Attorney Levan Samushia stated that Bregvadze was compelled to sign the testimony; otherwise he was threatened with planting other illegal substances in his car together with illegal weapon and it could worsen his position.

One more important point, which can prove the innocence of the detainee, is that the suspect had not touched the gun that was stuck in his belt by law enforcers. The policemen took out the gun themselves. According to the request of the attorney the gun will be examined in near future and it will prove that Bregvadze did not have any connection with the gun. “However, it is not excluded that the result of the expertise might be unsatisfactory. Based on our practice I will not be surprised if the conclusion of the expertise will state that the evidence was not valid for identification and it is impossible to detect the finger-prints on it, etc”, said Attorney Samushia.

Zaza Bregvadze worked in the state agency for 17 years honestly. He has received many awards. The relatives of the detainee cannot understand why he became undesirable person for the current government. However, after Bregvadze left the Security Service he actively participated in the rallies together with Irakli Batiashvili and it might have annoyed the government. Irakli Batiashvili told that his friend became undesired person for the current government after Bregvadze made a testimony at the trial in favor of Batiashvili. “When the tension in Kodori Valley started, I permanently tired to get in touch with Vano Merabishvili to offer him my help. I called Zaza and requested him to arrange my meeting with Merabishvili or with his deputies. I wanted to offer them my mediation; I could even arrive in Kodori if it was necessary. I was sure that because of my reputation I could resolve the problem peacefully. Zaza gave me the phone-number of Shalva Janashvili who is deputy of Vano Merabishvili and was in charge of Kodori incident. I tried to call him several times but could not. In order to prove that I tried to call the official of the Security Service, we requested the recordings of my phone-calls from the Magti Office (Company for mobile communications) during that period. Besides that, I invited Zaza Bregvadze as a witness to my trial and he gave a testimony to the court and confirmed my statements. Since then, the officials from the Security Department changed attitude towards him and he was treated like a traitor,” said Irakli Batiashvili. In October of 2008 Zaza Bregvadze left the Security Service Department based on his resignation letter. However, the real reason for his decision was hostile environment in the department.

Human Rights Commission of the Conservative Party granted former official Zaza Bregvadze with the status of political prisoner. They think that the detainee is innocent and he was arrested only on political grounds. “We discussed the cases of these people and discovered that they are completely innocent. There are 24 political prisoners in Georgia at the moment. In addition to that we have political refugees and now names of Koba Kobaladze and Zaza Bregvadze are added to this list,” stated Kakha Kukava, leader of the Conservative Party at the end of the meeting. Reportedly, all leading human rights organizations of Georgia are involved in the activities of the human rights commission of the Conservative Party. Those organizations are: Former Political Prisoners for Human Rights; Young Lawyers Association, Human Rights Center, Center for Constitutional Rights.

Non-parliamentary opposition parties request diplomatic corps and international organization to study the case on Zaza Bregvadze and to support the eradication of political persecution in Georgia.