Former Representative of the Constitutional Security Department (CSD) Accused of Rape but Gets-Away Under Plea-bargain

The Adjara Office of the Prosecutor General arranged plea bargain deal with Giorgi Chikovani, former investigator and operative officer of the Rapid Reaction Division within CSD Main Department of the Adjaran Autonomous Republic. Chikovani was accused of committing a rather grave crime - rape. However, in spite of the evidence, the prosecution arranged a plea bargain at the end of May when he was released after a 9-months prison.

The prosecutor presented the bill of indictment, according to which Giorgi Chikovani, broke into the house of S.T, a local, on the night of August 28 and brutally raped her. “Chikovani has first called her on her mobile phone and demanded that she submit to having sex with him. The victim hung up the phone.  Hoping Chikovani would not disturb her any more she fell asleep. Chikovani decided to break into the victim’s house and proceeded to rape her. He put a mask on his head, climbed on the fourth floor and entered the room from the balcony. Upon entering the room he took off the mask and banished a knife to frighten her. However, in spite of the show of the weapon, the rape victim failed to yield and Giorgi then used force in raped her with extreme degree of brutality. Moreover, the accused beat her, consequently, she suffered a brain concession and her mandible (lower jaw) was also broken. She suffered from multiple hemorrhages on both eyes. He also beat the ruthlessly,” says the bill of indictment.

Initially, Chikovani was sentenced to imprisonment, but later on January 15, 2008 he was only put under a bail of 50 000 GEL. The new charge was declared in the chamber of Judge Roin Kakhidze. The court on the rape case took place on February 5, 2008. The accused did not show up on the hearing therefore; his charges addressed in his absence.

Tornike Ananidze, the lawyer of the Human Rights Center says that the crime was so severe that the prosecutor should not have agreed to a plea bargaining with Chikovani. “Though the Criminal Procedural Code of Georgia does not specify the crimes which can be subjected to the plea bargaining, there is Article 679, Paragraph VI of the Criminal Procedural Code which stipulates that when arranging a plea bargaining with a suspect, a prosecutor must take into account the public interest and how grave was the crime. The prosecutor has not followed this requirement in this case.

Roin Kakhidze, the judge of Batumi City Court did not take into account the ruthlessness of the committed crime as well. According to Article 679, Paragraph III, a judge can file a decree for a plea bargain and it has to be based on law. A judge has the discretion to not affirm the agreement between a prosecutor and the accused.”

Maka Malakmadze, Batumi