Police Harasses Roma People because of “Ethnicity”

Gela Mtivlishvili, Kakheti

Those of the Roma ethnicity residing in the village of Leninovka in Dedoplistskaro District are blaming local police officers for harassing them on their ethnic background. They claim that law enforcers fabricated materials in making a criminal case and even insulted the Roma when they showed up at the police station to find out about the situation. They were physically kicked out of the station by the police.  The Roma claim that their rights have been and continue to be abused, and that this is because of their ethnic group. They are urging international organizations to come to their assistance. Otherwise, they will walk to Tbilisi with their children and begin protesting in front of the office of the Council of Europe.

On January 21 2008 a car accident occurred in the village of Tsiteltskaro in Dedoplistskaro district. Soldiers of the Georgian Defense Ministry were driving “UAZ” at a high speed and it crashed. The soldiers were accompanied by friends were also passengers in the car. They crashed VAZ 2106 and the Roma people sitting in the car that they crashed into were injured about their faces. Mikhail Denisenko, was the mostly injured and after several surgical operations. He is still bed ridden and remains disabled.

Criminal case was opened at the Dedoplistskaro District Police Department on the same day. Case materials state that “under the Criminal Procedural Code the scene of the car-accident should be examined immediately. The injured sitting in the car were placed in Dedoplistskaro district hospital.” “It is estimated that Zaza Kanchashvili, officer-in-chief of the Military Unit # 3 under the Defense Ministry was driving the UAZ. Blood of both drivers was tested and the analysis showed that both Mikhail Denisenko and Zaza Kanchashvili were sober,” said Giorgi Bunturi, the head of the Dedoplistskaro District Police Department.

Roma people claim that the UAZ was driven by drunken Moris Batiashvili and he was far from sober Kanchashvili. “Kanchashvili blames himself for driving the car because he was not drunk. In fact, Moris Batiashvili was driving the car and was totally drunk. After the car crash I fainted; when eyewitnesses pulled me out of my car Batiashvili was trying to get out of the UAZ from the driver’s side. Finally he fell down and suffered injuries as well.  They were coming from the restaurant. When they crashed us they went to the police station where they told that they had killed Roma people accidentally and urged police officers to support them in avoiding the criminal punishment,” said victim Ekaterina Prosheva.

One of the eyewitnesses also confirms that Zaza Kanchashvili was not driving the car. However, this has not been confirmed by an investigation. He has not yet been interrogated.

“Having heard the car-crash we rushed out into the street; we saw a man and a woman crept out of the UAZ and disappeared. Everybody in the car of Roma people was injured. It was very difficult to pull out the driver. The wheel and some other parts were blocking him and he was has passed out. We noticed two people in the UAZ; one was trying to get out of the car from driver’s side and he looked to be very drunk; and the second person was Nukri Baghashvili, surgeon at the district hospital, who was also drunk,” said Aleksandre Madioiani in his conversation with the Human Rights Center.

Injured Roma people claim that before the crash the UAZ was moving so fast that they tried to avoid the approaching car. “As soon as we turned away from the road the UAZ also drove into our direction. Everything happened so fast that I could not respond in time to do anything. I tried to drive on the left in avoiding the accident as I could and finally I stopped the car. At that very moment they crashed into us. I do not remember what all had happened,” recalled Mikhail Denisentko. Because of numerous broken bones he spent three weeks in the district hospital and the family sold out everything from the family to pay for his medical expenses. 

The investigation interrogated Denisentko as a witness but only after the Roma People had applied to the Human Rights Center for assistance. Although Denisenko can neither read nor write in Georgian, he was interrogated without the support of an interpreter. However, investigator Valeri Lekashvili claims that the witness was interrogated in accordance with the requirements of Georgian Criminal Procedural Code.

The investigator added that according to the conclusion of auto-technical expertise driver Mikhail Denisenko could have avoided the car accident under the Georgian Law on “Traffic Security”, Article 14, paragraph I. “As for Zaza Kanchashvili, he could not avoid the accident because VAZ 2106 was moving on their side and Zaza Kanchashvili did not break the Georgian Law on Traffic Safety”, said detective-investigator Valeeri Lekashvili.

Giorgi Bunturi, the head of the Dedoplistskaro District Police Department considers that based on the circumstances estimated by the investigation, Mikhail Denisenko is the focus of a crime. “We will start criminal prosecution against him and he cannot be declared as a victim,” said the head of the police.

Relatives of Denisenko blame the investigation for impartiality. “We arrived at the police station to find out the situation and they laughed at us and told when something happens that gypsies are able to understand laws. Investigator Lekashvili scolded us and banned us from coming to the police station. He threatened to put in prison unless we kept silence,” Malina Pinadova, wife of Denisenko, and she took exception to the threat from law enforcers.

Police officers from Dedoplistskaro district have not comment on the accusations of Roma People.

Representatives of the district Prosecutor’s Office also claim that the complaints about the investigation are groundless. Prosecutor Ioseb Guloshvili scolded Roma People during over-phone conversation with the journalist of the Human Rights Center: “Fuck them…they do not have any more business?”

The Roma are now urging international organizations for help. Unless their appeal is satisfied they intend to walk to Tbilisi with their children within several days. They will collect and start protesting in front of the office of Council of Europe.