Father of Policeman Blames Merabishvili in Protecting the Murderer of His Son

Nino Mikiashvili

There is no official version of the murder in the criminal case launched on the murder of 25-year-old Levan Odikadze. However, his father Nodar Odikadze has his own version and shared it with the pressa.ge

“On August 7, 2008 he spoke with his mother on mobile phone. You know what was going on in Georgia that day. His mother asked why he was not calling from his service phone and he said dead and wounded people were brought to the office. There is only one version of his murder –a high-ranking official ordered to kill my son because he saw something in the building of the Special Operative Department what he should not have seen and consequently he was killed. I cannot think of another version.”

Levan Odikadze was member of the security guard of the SOD building. In the morning of August 8, 2008 he left work for home but never arrived there. On August 11, his body was found in his car down the mountain in Temka Settlement of Tbilisi near the outfall of large and small seas of Tbilisi.

Detective Division of Tbilisi Main Police Department is from then investigating the case, categorized under Article 108 of the Criminal Code of Georgia (premeditated murder). The family members, relatives and the attorney Gela Nikolaishvili are not allowed to study case materials.

Only one document was handed to them: a notification on the criminal case N001083577 which was sent to the Public Defender’s Office on August 7, 2009. The details of interrogation of friends, colleagues and witnesses, as well as the results of the expertise and call records on his mobile phone are described in the document.

The 8-page notification demonstrates that around 3:00 pm on August 8, 2008 about 7 men had a party on Tbilisi Sea. One of them was Levan Odikadze. Later they started arguing and one of them asked another one with a knife to follow him.

Several minutes later, having heard noise and two gun-shots other men also joined the quarreling people which lasted several minutes. G. Adeishvili, who was pasturing cattle near the Tbilisi Sea, saw a certain Lado kill Levan Odikadze with hitting him with a stone in the head.

“Supposedly they put the body of Levan Odikadze on the back seat of his car and drove him in the direction of Temka Settlement. Before that, they threatened witness G. Adeishvili with death if he gave them away. Adeishvili said he can recognize Giorgi and the man with the gun,” specifies the notification written by the MIA to Public Defender’s Office.

4 months later Adeishvili was arrested for not reporting the crime according to the Article 376 of the Criminal Code of Georgia; he was judged and released 7 months later based on plea-bargain.

Levan Samkharauli, from the National Bureau of Forensic Expertise, carried out the examination on September 4, 2008. The conclusion of his expertise states that Levan Odikadze died because of: “a blunt trauma on head, fractures in face and skull… The injuries were caused by a hard, blunt thing and they were lethal.”

Nodar Odikadze: “He started working at the MIA in January of 2008 and worked only for 8 months. He often told me: “Father, why did I start working there? However he never spoke about details. 80 soldiers guarded the SOD building. Levani was head of the shift and was on duty once in three days. On August 7, 2008 when the war broke out he was on duty. We wondered whether he was taken to the front and my wife called him on the phone.”

“No, we are not going, he said, we are shifted to barrack-like regime and I will come home every next day.” He was replaced on August 8. My wife called me and asked to find out how he was and whether he was coming home or not.”

“In the morning I called him and said he was on his way close to home. However, he did not return home.”

“My call is deleted from his phone as well as one more call which was recorded by video-camera installed close to the market which shows that he was talking with somebody for 10 seconds who supposedly took him away.”

“Next day, on August 9 we found out with the support of video-cameras installed in the streets what he reached Javakheti Street in Isani-Samgori district of Tbilisi. We live in Vazisubani settlement. The trace of the car disappeared after the Javakheti Street.”

Father of the murdered man said he does not believe the versions announced by the law enforcement officers. According to those versions Levan Odikadze went to Tbilisi Sea to clear up misunderstanding caused after an argument in slot-club.

“I think this case is fabricated. Levan has never made bets in slot clubs and I exclude this version. Initially, my son’s work appointed an attorney for us. He said “a woman interfered in this accident” and we wasted 5 months on it. Then we hired Gela Nikolaishvili and he defends our rights. Merabishvili knows everything about everybody in this country and could not they estimate who and why my son was killed?! Furthermore, he worked at the SOD; but we are afraid nobody is going to estimate the truth.”

“Once Shalva Natelashvili, leader of the Labor Party, held briefing about our case, Gela Nikolaishvili made a statement on TV but nobody paid attention to it. Then I visited the office of Iuri Vazagashvili and he assisted me in what he could; he called the Young Lawyers Association and they might also took our case.”

“I showed photo of my son to Iuri Vazagashvili and he made a large poster of it. Every weekend the parents of killed sons will gather. I am going to join the organization “Safe the Life”; I have no more purpose in my life; they have killed my only son.”

“I am not praising him not because he was my son… but they could not find any enemy who could kill him. He was very honest person. Why did they kill him? Let them answer my question; I want nothing more. He graduated from the Institute of Physical Culture and before that he finished Sport School. He played in the football team of Georgia; he was awarded by minister Merabishvili. Mikheil Saakashvili often says they would not forgive anyone who kills a law enforcement officer so why don’t they do anything about my son’s murder? One year and 3 months have passed since the accident. Nobody has got in touch with us for the last 6 months.”

“On October 28 the investigator called me and asked: “Do you have any versions? Maybe your neighbors or friends speak about some versions?” Can you understand what kind of questions they are asking me?! The prosecutor’s office monitors the investigation of this case and they called me just to pretend before the prosecutor they are working on it.”

Nodar Odikadze asked his three friends who are members of the parliament for help. They are members of the National Movement, the ruling party. One of them met the Minister of Internal Affairs. The latter promised “We will find the murderer by all means.” But the father of the killed young man said the minister is not looking for the murderer at all because his institution does not want it. The father claims his son was killed by the order of high-ranking official because he saw what he should not have seen. Friends in the parliament do not answer the phone calls of Nodar Odikadze; he thinks they have also learned the true reason of murder and cannot do anything; thus they do not want to speak with him.

Attorney Gela Nikolaishvili states the law enforcement officers refuse him to study case materials because the investigation is under way and the law does not oblige them to allow the attorney and family members of the victim side to study case materials.

Gela Nikolaishvili: “It is written in the law that parties shall study case materials but they do not consider the victim side as a party. It is evident that a policeman is involved in this murder because nobody else will dare to carry gun openly if not a policeman. The pasture said one of the people had gun.”

“The pasture can recognize the murderer but supposedly he was ordered not to. Somebody is involved in this murder who shall not be exposed. Or, they are lazy to estimate the truth.”

Source: Pressa.ge