Erik Dudaev: “Just Imagine, They Have Killed My Father, Raped My Sister … I Will Never Forgive It to Them”

Mari Otarashvili

Experts working on South Ossetian conflict view Marek (Nodar) Dudaev as a tragic person rather than a criminal. Marek was 13 years old when he witnessed murder of his father, raping of his sister and burning of his mother. Georgian conflict scientists state Marek Dudaev turned into a criminal because of the tragedy. On November 25, 2005 Marek Dudaev, resident of the village of Artsevi in Tskhinvali district, was sentenced to 23-year-imprisonment for murder, extortion and robbery by Tbilisi City Court. His brother Erik Dudaev is also sought. He is member of de-facto parliament of South Ossetia. Humanrights.ge managed to interview him.

Very often, separatists bring example of Dudaevs’ family as a victim of Georgian aggression. Erik Dudaev said in his interview with humanrights.ge that his brother is a political prisoner because he had not committed any crime at all. However, he claims the opposite in one part of his interview. “Why does not anybody speak why Marek became criminal? Why is he in similar situation? And how do you think, our family is the only one which became the victim of this conflict?! No, there are plenty of them!!! By the way, before 1990s we had perfect relation with Georgian people. Only after that this tragedy started.”

During the interview we learned that Erik Dudaev has not heard anything about his brother since imprisonment not to speak about seeing him. “I do not know how he is; what conditions he is in, etc. I know nothing about him. I am sorry for that, but cannot do anything,” he complained.

Did you try to find out his situation? Cannot you do it yourself or you are not allowed to?

- To tell the truth, I do not know why I am sought. I have not breached the law of Georgia. My only crime is that I am brother of Marek Dudaev. What do Saakashvili, Merabishvili or other Georgian politicians want from me? And what did Okruashvili want from me? Neither my brother nor I have done anything wrong against Georgian people. I do not hate Georgian people. I wonder why you are not interested to find out what has happened with our family; why they were so brutal with us?! Why do not you evaluate our family tragedy properly? And just explain to me, why we were punished so ruthlessly? Just imagine, my father was killed; my sister was raped…I will never forgive it to anyone. I repeat once more- I do not say that I hate Georgian people. I hate only those people who I listed above because they and people like them destroyed my family. They have arrested Marek and we do not know his location yet.

- Do you have any relatives on Georgian side and do you contact with them?

- No I do not have any relative there anymore.

- Much was said about your brother - bad and good. Georgian law enforcement officers arrested him as a ruthless criminal who is charged for murder, extortion and robbery…

- Who is criminal?! He has never done anything bad to people. He has never been cruel and always treated everybody fairly. I am responsible for what I am saying now. Furthermore, he has assisted many poor people. Georgian law enforcement bodies created these stories.

- You claim that you will not forgive anybody the tragedy of your family; what are you going to do?

- What am I going to do?! I do not want to speak about it. Let anybody imagine himself in my place and then tell me what they will do…

- Do you have reply to your own question – why did your family become the victim of cruelty? There should be some reason for it.

- Just because we were Ossetian people! That was the only reason. My parents were ordinary people and they worked on collective farm; they did not do any harm to anybody. They attacked our family and destroyed us. What would my brother do after what he saw? Why does not anybody speak why Marek became a criminal? Why is he in similar situation? Why do you think that only our family is victim of conflict situations? There are plenty of them. By the way, before 1990s we had perfect relations with Georgian people; only after that this tragedy started. I do not want to speak about it.

Our phone-conversation finished here. At the end of the interview, when we started speaking about family tragedy, Erik Dudaev got nervous. From his controversial answers we can leave one question not only to Georgian law enforcement officers but to entire Georgian society – indeed, why nobody has studied those tragedies which later resulted into revenge and bloodshed? Will not it be good if we look for the reasons, roots and results of those crimes?