Kvareli District Governor Is Blamed for Murdering Children

Twenty-nine-year-old resident of Kvareli District, Tamar Gheleghutashvili, blamed present Governor of Kvareli District, Mamuka Kuprashvili, for cruel murder of her brothers, sixteen-year-old Kakha and thirteen-year-old Zakro Gheleghutashvilis. The terrible crime happened several years ago. The victim demands to renew the “frozen investigation” and to punish criminals. “I am ready to expose criminals if they let me do and do not kill me like my little children,” said Tamar Gheleghutashvili who urges the human rights defenders for help.

On December 24 1993 in Kvareli, Nikoloz Kuprashvili an employee of the Forest Department was killed. On December 25, local law enforcers detained juvenile brothers, Kakha and Zakro Gheleghutashvilis.

“I was bringing up the children. Their parents lived in Kvareli. Kakha took part in battles in Abkhazian War according to his own wish, but Zakro was a pupil by that time. On December 24, when I left home they were sleeping. Coming home I could not find them at home. I looked for them in the district but they were nowhere. They returned home late and I asked my grandsons where they had been. They answered they had been hunting. They had supper and went to bed. The boys did not look worried and behaved quite normally. On the next day, on December 25 we had to go to our relatives in the next village of Tsitskanaantseri. I took younger brother with me. Passing by the police station, a policeman stopped me and asked where my grandchildren had been on the previous day. I answered him they had been out and returned late. The policeman asked me where Kakha was and I said he was at home. The policeman asked “Did they think the man was a bird when they killed him,” and I went on my way. The policemen arrived at my house and as neighbors told me later, they spent only five minutes there, and then they pushed Kakha into a car. They also carried out some cars from the house saying they had found them in the pitcher. The policemen took the boy to the police station. We had not left Kvareli when police car reached us, grabbed Zakro and took him by car without any explanations. I went to the police a lot of people were gathered there and they were shouting,” wrote grandmother of the murdered children in her testimony.

According to the official information, Kvareli Police Department detained Kakha Gheleghutashvili as a suspect for Kuprashvili’s murder. As for Zakro Gheleghutashvili, the police investigator questioned him as a witness. Lawyer Vazha Varadashvili and school teacher Natela Tetrashvili attended the interrogation.

“Zakro was crying when the investigator was asking him questions. He was saying he had not killed Kuprashvili…he wanted to say something but could not. At that time some people rushed into the investigator’s quarter and kidnapped the boy though we tried to protect him. The investigator did not help us to save the boy,” said Natela Tetrashvili in her testimony.

The witness of the fact, who prefers to stay anonymous, recalled the incident.

“Zakro was crying loudly when they were dragging the child down on the stairs. He was saying he was not a killer and begging not to harm him; but they did not listen to him. At that time Tamaz Tuliani, a relative of Kuprashvili, was shouting at Kakha “you boy, plead yourself guilty of having murdered ‘Urga’, anyway, your death is already decided and you should at least save your brother”. However, nobody let Kakha say something. …Poor boy was tall and they could not properly pack him in the car boot and several men broke his spine in order to stuff him in the boot of a police car. Very soon they opened the door of the same car and pushed Zakro into it too. Tuliani was giving orders,” said the witness.

The witness also added that the kidnapping and the murdering of the brothers was planned in advance and the whole police staff had information about that. “Before they took the children out of the building, people were shouting in the yard-Show us those murderers! At that moment a policeman went out of the building and tried to calm down the people saying “We will wait until it is evening and then take them when everybody leaves the building.” Days are short in winter and it was still midday when policemen started to leave the office, but they were not coming out of the building in groups. Soon Dito Iosebashvili, the chief of the Police Department left the place too. Later it became known that only one policeman-on-duty and investigator, who was interrogating Zakro, remained in the office. If everything had not been arranged in advance, all the policemen together with the head of the office had not left the office earlier,” said the witness.

Having been kidnapped from the police station, the boys were taken to Kvareli District where dead body of Kuprashvili was discovered on the previous day. “Initially they killed older brother. Having witnessed that, Zakro tried to say once more that he had not killed anyone and he wanted to say the name of the murderer. A man from Shilda…he started to say the name but they did not let him finish his word. Nikoloz Kuprashvili’s son, Mamuka Kuprashvili shot him too. Zakro fell on his brother’s body and he mumbled “let’s die together”. In order to get sure that Zakro was dead, they burnt his body with cigarettes. They wanted to see his reaction. I am completely sure that Mamuka killed my brothers. Not only one person told me about that, I have heard the same story from many people,” said Tamar Gheleghutashvili.

Gocha Jafiashvili also heard about his friends being kidnapped. He informed the mother of the brothers about the tragedy. Representatives of that-time armed formation, Mkhedrioni, Rezo and Gela Jandaurashvilis, arrived very soon. Having arrived at the scene of murder, they saw the bodies of the dead boys had been packed in the horse-satchel and murderers were going to burn the bodies. “Some wood was brought next to the satchel. Kakha’s hands were broken. Tuliani, Nodar Fretsuashvili and others were setting fire on the satchel. Little brother was still alive. We put him in the car and took to Kvareli hospital but doctors could not help him,” said one of Mkhedrioni members.

Mother of the boys got drunk and sick after the tragedy. Grandmother and father died. Only sister of cruelly murdered Kakha and Zakro remained health and alive who has been demanding the punishment of the murderers in vain for fourteen years already. She got particularly annoyed when Mamuka Kuprashvili, a person whom she blames for her brothers’ murder, was appointed to the position of Kvareli Municipality Governor. Tamar says that such people should be in prison and not on high positions.

Kuprashvili categorically denies Gheleghutashvili’s accusations and his connection with the murder. “I have nothing to do with that crime. I have no idea about it. Can you imagine how I felt because my father had just died…I remember nothing. I have not killed the children,” said Kuprashvili and does not want to recall the details.

Despite all our efforts, we could not get in touch with Fretsuashvili who is the father of present Telavi District Prosecutor, Aleksandre Feriashvili.

On December 25 1993 a criminal case was launched on Kakha and Zakro Gheleghutashvilis’ murder. The crime was investigated under the Georgian Criminal Code, Artticle 104 (old edition). According to the official information, the Sighnaghi District Prosecutor’s Office was in charge of carrying out preliminary investigation on the murder. According to Sighnaghi District Prosecutor, Koba Gogiberidze, nobody was condemned for Gheleghutashvilis’ murder.

The investigation was hindered because of having revealed no criminals. That means they could not find murderers.

-Mr. Koba, Tamar Gheleghutashvili, sister of the murdered brothers, blames present Kvareli District Governor, Kuprashvili and others, for murdering her brothers. Is Kuprashvili’s name mentioned in the criminal case materials?

-No, that name is not mentioned in the materials. I am gathering information regarding the tragedy and then we will launch the investigation,” said Gogiberidze.

Lawyers said that Criminal Code Article 104 that acted in 1993 envisaged the murder of two and more people in particularly aggravated circumstances.  “Thus, the crime cannot be considered to be old and it is quite reasonable to launch investigation on it and punish the criminals now,’ said Lia Khuroshvili, a lawyer for the Human Rights Center.

If accused are found guilty, they face imprisonment from ten to twenty years or even life imprisonment.

Gela Mtivlishvili, Kakheti