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Ministry of Health and Social Affairs Threatens Bomb Victim

March 7, 2006

Ministry of Health and Social Affairs Threatens Bomb Victim 

On August 21st, 2004, a vehicle was blown up by an anti- tank mine, burried in sand on the grounds of Hotel ‘Oasis’, in the town of Chakvi.  Two youngsters were severely injured as a result. 

The next day, the Ministry of Security started a criminal case regarding the accident, under Article 236, part I, of the criminal law.

Although the local government, which came into power during the revolution, tried hard to prove that Aslan Abashidze, former leader of Adjara, was responsible for the crime, the Ministry of Security was not able to find him guilty. As a result the Ministry of Security stopped the investigation. 

The explosion caused Vartazar Egizarian, 22, to lose both his legs and Ashot Surmalian to lose a leg and his eyesight. Though it was impossible to find those responsible for planting the bomb, according to the Georgian constitution, the civil code places an obligation on the government to provide compensation for harm done to the victims.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs is responsible for giving this type of compensation. Proof of this responsibility is demonstrated by the following statement made by Akaki Tsintsadze, the Minister of Security of Adjara, during an interview with the newspaper ‘Alia’: “Since the revolution, about 128 bombs have been found and defused at the scene of the accident, near the seaside and on Choloki territory. However, it seems that our equipment has not been fully effective to some extent”.

Thus, the Minister of Security confirms that the state authorities had information that the grounds of Hotel ‘Oasis’ were unsafe. Despite this, they did not carry our any de-mining work, nor did they carry out any other preventative measures to avoid an accident occurring. Furthermore, there was lack of sufficient security at the hotel and there was not even a warning sign placed on its grounds.

Notification from the Social Insurance United State Fund provides important evidence for the legal case. The notification states that Vartazar Egizarian is categorized as having a ‘first group’ disability, needing constant care. Surmalian is diagnosed as having a ‘second group’ disability.

According to Article 413 of the Criminal Law, in the case of physical or moral harm to a person’s health, the victim of the crime should be refunded with a specified amount of money. In addition, there exist laws concerning the social care of disabled persons, which obliges state structures to provide severely disabled people with someone to care for there needs.

Egizarian and Surmalian were determined to assert their legal rights through the courts, forcing the Ministry of Internal Affairs to compensate them for the moral harm done and secure to the provision of care givers. Egizarian is represented by lawyers Ketevan Mekhuzla and Vanda Jijelava, from the organization ‘Article 42 of the Constitution’. The lawyers started the law suit last July. Despite all the applications and complaints the lawyers have filed, the Board of Administration Cases at the Tbilisi District Court, has yet to fix a date for the trial. This delay only serves to further exacerbate the moral harm already done to the victims of the crime.

Furthermore, the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs now refuses to assist the two disabled men, stopping their social assistance several weeks ago. The social assistance was cut off because of a statement made by Egizarian, arguing that the Social Insurance United State Fund did not provide them with proper assistance.

After Egizarian’s made his TV interview, Marina Khidasheli, who works for the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs, called him and threatened not to pay him the promised amount from the ministry because of the allegations he made in the interview. What Marina Khidasheli had forgotten is that this state aid was not simply charity from the Ministry; it was the Ministry’s duty to provide such aid.

The organization ‘Article 42 of the Constitution’ demands an investigation into the legality of the actions carried out against Egizarian by the authorities at the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs. They also demand that the court date of the law suit against the Ministry of Internal Affairs be set. The legislation provides fair grounds for such a suit and the government is obliged to compensate the victims for the harm caused. 

Article 42 of the Constitution

 

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