“I Will Make You Disabled and You Will not Be Able to Write Anything in Future”

Gela Mtivlishvili, Kakheti

“I will kill you. I am looking for you and wherever I see you, I will kill you without considering anything. You compelled me to do it. Why are not you leaving me alone? Have not you heard that you should not bother me?” Gogi Nikvashvili, director of Sighnaghi district hospital “Janrmteloba Ltd” threatened the journalist. The chief doctor of the hospital was irritated by the articles we have published about him. Nikvashvilithreatens the doctors who blamed him in robbery of the family medical center in their testimonies to the prosecutor’s office. Nikvashvili claims nobody will do any harm to him because he is relative of Aleksandre Onanashvili, head of Sighnaghi district police department. Investigators of that department are investigating the case.

On February 5, 2009 17-year-old Goderdzi Jankarashvili died in Sighnaghi hospital. The mother of the dead boy Eka Poladashvili stated that Nikvashvili did not satisfy their request on changing the surgeon for their son.

“Goderdzi was brought to the Tsnori hospital by ambulance. If Doctor Nikvashvili had not started the operation two hours later and had not made mistakes during the operation, my son might have survived. Before operation we asked Nikvashvili to invite another surgeon but he did not satisfy our request. After the operation we found out that Nikvashvili had not made correct diagnosis. Goderdzi was operated for the second time and it ended with his death,” said Eka Poladashvili.

Based on the suit of the mother, investigation was started in Kakheti regional prosecutor’s office though without any results. Eka Poladashvili appealed to the Agency for the Regulation of the Medical Activities within the Ministry of Labor, Healthcare and Social Welfare and requested to deprive the license from Nikvashvili. However, the Agency has not studied the case yet.

Sikhashvilis from Tsnori also sue the director of the Sighnaghi district hospital. Eka Sikhashvili said Giorgi Nikvashvili did not pay attention to the patient that was brought to the hospital on time and consequently her husband Sandro Sikhashvili died.

According to the official data, Sandro Sikhashvili was placed in Sighnaghi district hospital on February 8, 2009 for high blood pressure. “Nikvashvili and his personnel did not do anything for the patient. Later, his health conditions got worse. We asked Nikvashvili to send the patient to Tbilisi but he did not call the “Disaster Center” until the conditions were extremely worsened. Sandro died in Tbilisi Ghudushauri Hospital as soon as he was delivered,” said Eka Sikhashvili.

The director of the Sighnaghi district hospital got irritated after we published articles about the abovementioned facts. When we visited the hospital to find out the reason of Goderdzi Jankarashvili’s death Nikvashvili chased us with medical knife. We did not appeal to the law enforcement bodies after this incident. Several days later Nikvashvili called me on the phone, insulted me and threatened with physical assault.

“Tell me who orders you to write critical article about me. I will punish both of you. You will be punished for everything. You do not know me properly. I can do anything. I will cut your right hand and make you disabled in order to prevent you from writing anything and reporting TV stations about similar facts,” Nikvashvili was shouting over the phone. Before this incident TV Companies “Imedi” and “Rustavi 2” had prepared TV-items about the deaths of Jankarashvili and Sikhashvili.

Several days ago, doctors also opposed the director of the Sighnaghi district hospital. Doctors Elene Khelashvili, Eliza Batiashvili, Lia Khanjaliashvili and others stated that “the building of the family medical center was reconstructed in the town of Tsnori in Sighnaghi district in 2007 with the financial support of the EU. The center was equipped with modern apparatus and other materials. However, the family medical center did not work for two years though it was to serve more than 6 000 residents of Tsnori. Gogi Nikvashvili, chief doctor of Sighnaghi district hospital, did not allow doctors to work in the center as it was verified by the explanation letters of the doctors. According to them, Nikvashvili told them several times to break into the building if they wanted to work there. Several days ago, the doctors managed to enter the medical center with the support of special commission. They discovered that expensive medical equipment and other medical materials were stolen. When we demanded Nikvashvili to explain us the situation he threatened with firing us if we do not stop complaining,” said the doctors.

Gogi Nikvashvili denies to have robbed the family medical center and to have threatened the doctors. However, it must be pointed out that after the Human Rights Center got interested in the fact, Nikvashvili returned cardiograph apparatus and glucose-meter to the medical center with the support of the lab assistant of the Sighnaghi district hospital. Other equipment and medical materials were not discovered yet.

After the news agencies spread the information about the violations in the medical center TV Company Rustavi 2 prepared and showed a TV-item on the fact. Next day, a stranger called me on the phone and threatened me with death. “I will kill you. I am looking for you and wherever I see you I will kill without considering anything. You have compelled me to do it. Why are not you leaving me alone? Cannot you understand that you should not bother me?” the man was shouting in the phone. I found out his identity by his mobile phone number. He was Gogi Nikvashvili. The criminal persecution has started on the fact of threatening and it was sent to Sighnaghi district police department. Aleksandre Onanashvili, the head of the department, is relative of Nikvashvili; he is godfather of the child. Besides that the doctor is active member of the National Movement, the ruling party. During elections he is chairperson of the election commission in any of the polling stations in Sighnaghi district.