The Bakradzes Family Persecuted on Political Motives

Mariam Khurtsidze

Intimidation of Kareli resident Vasil Bakradze and his family started on February 25, 2009 when former parliament speaker Nino Burjanadze held a conference of her political party “Democratic Movement – United Georgia.”

Next day, on February 26, Vasil Bakradze’s sister Teona Bakradze was requested to write resignation letter at the Kareli Public School # 1 where she worked as a teacher. Teona Bakradze did not write the application.

Afterwards, parents of four pupils petitioned to the General Inspection of the Education Ministry and complained that Teona Bakradze was giving cigarettes to pupils and requested to fire her from school. The General Inspection studied their complaint but could not confirm the fact because there were valid evidence that parents had written complaint under oppression.

Since it was impossible to sack Teona Bakradze from school with similar methods, the school director resigned from the position under oppression from the local authority.

Teona Bakradze said afterwards the school director wrote resignation letter and resigned. Nevertheless, the new director systematically summoned Teona Bakradze and requested to leave school. The director clarified his demands as follows: “unless you leave school, I will have to resign.” Soon, Teona Bakradze was offered a job in a private school and she left Public School #1 according to her own wish.

Second sister of Vasil Bakradze Eka Bakradze also worked at Kareli Public School # 2 as a teacher. The school director Marita Babluani often summoned her too and requested to leave job because her family members had different political views. The school director and Eka Bakradze finally agreed that she would take one-year unpaid vacation. However, when Eka Bakradze handed her application on vacation to the director, the school administrated sacked her from job instead giving her a holiday.

Eka Bakradze petitioned to the Kareli District Education Center about the issue and the Center replied: “School director is a school manager in fact, who is responsible to work out personnel schedule. Consequently, he is in charge of signing labor contracts or suspending contracts with teachers, as well as introducing changes in working hours at school. All these issues are within the competence of general education institution. And the arguments caused due to labor contract are beyond the competence of the education resource center.”

Since September 15, 2011 Eka Bakradze has been dismissed from school without any explanations. She has lodged a suit to the court to return to the Public School # 2 as a class mentor. Eka Bakradze’s suit was not satisfied.

 On April 26, members of Nino Burjanadze’s political party, “Democratic Movement-United Georgia”, were attacked in Kareli, a town in the Shida Kartli region. The coordinator of the Kareli office of the political party ,Vasil Bakradze and his brother Nikoloz Bakradze, were driving by car in Bakhtrioni Street from 8:00 pm to 9:00 pm. Suddenly a BMW jeep blocked their way and the driver of their car, Nikoloz Bakradze, had to stop the car. Two stout men got out of the jeep and went toward the car of the Bakradzes. The two stout strangers were holding truncheons. According to Nikoloz and Vasil Bakradzes one of attackers was in a mask.

The strangers broke the front window of the car and then the window on the driver’s side. The glass injured the eye, ear and face of Nikoloz Bakradze. He still takes medical treatment for those injuries. The witnesses’ statement prepared at the Public Defender’s office states that after the attack Bakradze drove back and crashed the sign-post. The attackers chased them; but Bakradze, managed to turn back and escape. The strangers fired three times.

The Human Rights Center published an article about the incident in 2009.