Mother of Missing Trafficking Victim Starts Hunger Strike and Threatens Self-Immolation

Mother of Missing Trafficking Victim Starts Hunger Strike and Threatens Self-Immolation

The Human Rights Information and Documentation Centre covered a story concerning Ia Kitiashvili, a victim of trafficking. The article contained the parents’ appeal to the President of Georgia, asking him to get their daughter back alive or find her body should she be dead. The only way out for a helpless mother in despair, is to protest and carry out a hunger strike. As a last resort, she threatens to burn herself to death in front of parliament. 

Ia Kitiashvili, 15, disappeared from her home at 4am on April 29th 1996. No one has seen her since. Searching for her daughter led Ia’s mother, Tina Kitiashvili, to a brothel owned by the Kvintradze family in Tbilisi, in the Zeleli district, but when Tina finally arrived at the brothel her daughter was no longer there.

Ia’s family applied to many different institutions for help and named the people involved in her daughters disappearance, but to no avail. Tina Kitiashvili claims that an objective investigation has not been started because the traffickers are supported by high ranking officials. Last year, the parents – a mother weeping for the loss of a daughter and a sick father, used the media to ask the President to help them. No one, except for the media has paid them any attention.

Tina Kitiashvili told of the events that happened since her daughter disappeared: “We discovered our child was missing early in the morning. We looked everywhere for our child but couldn’t find her. Then, we decided to call the police. The Gurjaani police department immediately started a criminal investigation but this investigation has been neither objective nor brought any results since it was started. I had no choice but to continue searching for my daughter by myself. I managed to find out that Ia was in a brothel owned by Temur Kvintradze. However, when I got to the brother she was no longer there. The truth is that Kvintradze had raped her then hidden her. A son of the owner of the public house confessed that his father had bought Ia from my neighbors; Mtvarisa Ilashvili and her sister Lela Lekborashvili (who is known as ‘Mamma’) from Kakheti. The police knew all of this information but they did nothing about it. After that I completely lost all trace of Ia.”

Tina believes that those carrying out the investigation are not interested in finding out about the disappearance of a 15 year old girl because high ranking officials support and back the traffickers. According to the mother, Ia’s case is regarded as a ‘secret file’.

The Georgian Young Lawyer Association, which has been working on the case for four months now, states that in order to find the case they have had to contact a number of state bodies. “It turned out that the Special Operative Department has not got any information about this case of trafficking. Eventually, we managed to find the case number at the Investigation Department. At the moment, we are awaiting a response informing us about the stage the case is at, including its history and other details”, says Irakli Artilakva.

Tina Kitiashvili told the Human Rights Information and Documentation Centre that in the near future she plans to make more radical protests. “I was unable to find justice. I can’t understand why no one is interested in this case of trafficking. I don’t want to believe that the traffickers have supporters within our own government; however, what has happened can only lead to this conclusion. There is no way left for me except more and more radical forms of protest. I am starting a hunger strike.  I will avenge my daughter. I will burn myself in front of the parliament because there is no sense in me living any longer”, says the mother in despair, “I cannot help my child”.

Gela Mtvilishvili from Kakheti