Prisoner Dies in Jail #3

Prisoner Dies in Jail #3

On February 6th, a prisoner named Soso Beridze died in Batumi Jail #3.  He needed a heart operation to change a heart regulator that was put in 10 years ago. According to doctors, the operation was a matter of vital importance for the prisoner. 

Soso Beridze, 59, needed to be operated on in January 2006. According to family members, the Jail Administration did not allow him to leave prison. “I asked that my father be released and guaranteed he would be brought right back after the operation”, said Ramaz Beridze, the son of dead prisoner.

In order to prove the operation was necessary, the family first needed Soso Beridze’s medical history from the hospital (in Moscow) where the prisoner had his first operation.

Beridze also needed the opinion of a medical expert. The expert however demanded money before giving a proper diagnosis. “Expert Murman Kvachadze demanded $500 to give the right diagnosis. We could not gather the sum and offered him a car instead. However, his response was that the experts’ team consisted of six people; consequently, one car could not be shared or divided between them. On Monday, the expert gave the following conclusion: ‘The patient, Soso Beridze, is healthy and can be kept in imprisonment’”, said Badri Asambadze, a son-in-law of Beridze. 

Iuri Jirkvaliani, Deputy Head of Jail#3, doubts the trustworthiness of the statements the Beridzes make: “On the contrary, we would help them to get the prisoner’s operation, but they did not have enough money for it.”

The expert, Murman Kvachadze, also denies the Beridzes’ accusations and says: “We studied the condition of the prisoner objectively and concluded adequately. I can’t understand all these accusations about falsification or bribery the family is making”. 

Soso Beridze was charged with drug possession. He was condemned to 8 years and 2 months imprisonment. 

Maka Malakmadze from Batumi