Tbilisi City Court Sent Ukrainian Citizens to 23-Year-Imprisonment

Nona Salaghaia

On June 18 Tbilisi City Court sent Ukrainian Citizen Oresto Bokhonko to 23-year-imprisonment. Bokhonko, who arrived in Georgia as a guest, was charged for possession and purchase of narcotics.

The investigation on the Ukrainian citizen was prolonged and the lawyers for the Human Rights Center took up the case because the suspect was tortured and inhumanly treated by law enforcers. Lawyer Nino Andriashvili stated that the prosecutor’s office prolonged the court hearing on purpose. After the court investigation finished the hearing was postponed twice based on the request of the prosecutor. Initially, she had not prepared speech for the dispute and second time her child was ill.

37-year-old Oresto Bokhonko was arrested on September 27, 2008 in the Tbilisi International Airport by Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti Main Regional Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs based on the operative information. Investigation group breached many norms while detention the Ukrainian citizen.

First violation: Bokhonko was arbitrarily detained. According to the European Court, a person shall not be detained based on operative information. The law enforcers might have suspected that the person was transporting narcotic substances though the border. However, the law enforcers did not know where he was keeping the drugs.

Second violation: At the airport Bokhonko was made to sign the protocol on detention and search. The protocol was written in Georgian and the detainee could not read it. Law enforcers “explained” to Bokhonko that it was formal procedure in order to avoid more complicated procedures.

Third violation: As a result of the unsuccessful search law enforcers led Bokhonko to a room by force; they made him take clothes off and checked his anal canal when Bokhonko was not on conscious. Four policemen were recording the search process by mobile-phone. The suspected person states they were laughing at him. According to the law, in the case of necessity anal canal of a suspect can be examined by specialists only and policeman shall not carry out the procedure. The rights of the suspect were breached in this case too and instead Doctor Kokhta Kudua, head of Operative Team, examined him. The accuser side claims that it was necessary to examine Bokhonko immediately because he could get rid of the drugs or disappear.

Forth violation: When Bokhonko came to conscious after being tortured the policemen showed him a yellow balloon and some substance in white polyethylene bag. They were separately on the table. The policemen told him that it was narcotics that were withdrawn from his body. In accordance to the law, a substance or a thing, which is discovered as evidence during the preliminary investigation, shall be sealed up in the form it was found. Policemen claimed they had found white polyethylene bag with yellow balloon in it from the anal canal of Bokhonko. The yellow balloon does not exist anymore. However, corresponding expertise could estimate whether the balloon was taken out from Bokhonko’s body or not. The investigator explained that the evidence was dirty with fecal masses and law enforcers did not think it was necessary to reserve it because of bad smell.

Bokhonko’s case is very complicated and it is evident that Georgian judiciary system breached the rights of Ukrainian citizen. The law enforcers did not take into consideration that detention of a foreign citizen shall be informed to a corresponding embassy or consulate within 5 hours. However, the Ukrainian Embassy was informed about Bokhonko’s detention only five days later.

The defense side could declare the evidence gained through breaching the law unacceptable at the trial. City Court and Judge Lela Shkubuliani found the detention of Bokhonko and the search illegal and demanded the prosecutor’s office to carry out repeated investigation.

“With the conclusion, the Court partly admitted that investigator had gained evidence by breaching the law. That means investigator Janashia had committed crime. However, the court refuses to decline the evidence that was gained through breaching the law; it is strange,” said Nino Andriashvili.

Bokhonko’s attorneys are going to appeal against the decision at the Appeal Court. “Unless the Appeal Court changes the decision, the Human Rights Center will send the Bokhonko’s case to Strasbourg Court. I am sure we will win the case because of the violations that were observed in this case,” said Nino Andriashvili.