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Faked Legal Findings in Shida Kartli Prosecutor’s Office

June 3, 2008

Saba Tsitsikashvili, Gori

Suratia Gigauri, a resident of Shartava Street # 48 in Gori, demands that high-ranking officials of the Gori Prosecutor’s Office be punished. She claims they changed and falsified the conclusions over the death of her husband. We estimated from our findings that investigator Merebashvili and the prosecutor Muradashvili collaborated in the case.

On August 27 2004 Konstantine and Suratia Gigauri had an argument over a house and its yard with Aleksandre and Gia Gigauris, both nephews of Konstantine. During the argument Konstantine Gigauri fell down and seriously injured his face. One month later the old man died. Suratia Gigauri appealed to the Prosecutor’s Office. She doubted the reason for her husband’s death was the quarrel and injuries that he had suffered after falling down.

The appeal on the incident that occurred in August of 2004 and there was not any reaction on in the prosecutor’s office for a long period of time. In June of 2005 Suratia Gigauri reminded Kakha Chumbadze, that time regional prosecutor that they had to investigate the reason for the death of Konstantine Gigauri. Kakha Chumbadze inquired about the case and found out that Nika Merebashvili had been investigating the incident. Chumbadze demanded the supervising prosecutor of Merebashvili to provide notification as why there was a ten-month-delay in the investigation.

Aleski Mazmishvili, supervisor prosecutor, wrote a “perfect” notification. It was dated by June 27 2005. Mazmishvili drew attention to the fact that the investigator looking into the case had incorrectly reached a conclusion that justified the dropping the investigation on the death of Gigauri was illegal.

Quoting from the letter:

“As for physical assault on Konstantine Gigauri that occurred on August 27 2004, preliminary investigation was carried out by Nika Merebashvili who concluded that on August 27 Suratia Gigauri was the person who started the incident. The conflict of the two families over the yard was discussed at Georgian Supreme Court and that sheer fact encouraged the conflict between them very often. During the recent quarrel (as Merebashvili estimated) Nana Gigauri, wife of Aleskandre Gigauri, Tamar Giviashvili with her little child were out in yard. Suratia Gigauri started cursing them and Konstantine Gigauri went out to support his wife. He wanted to throw stone at them. Nana Gigauri and Tamar Giviashvili called Aleksandre Gigauri for help. When he went out Konstantine Gigauri stepped back and fell down. Consequently, he was injured.”

Aleksi Mazmishvili found faults on the conclusion of the investigator. He wrote to the Regional Prosecutor. “Although, examination materials concluded the opposite and Konstantine Gogauri had numerous injuries on the body, his right leg was injured and his health conditions was then assessed as being less grave; back on September 26, 2004 Merebashvili concluded that it was not necessary to launch criminal persecution that was illegal because the action of Aleksandre Gigauri should be envisaged under the Article 118 paragraph I of the Criminal Code. That means premeditated injury to a persons health shall be punished with eighteen-month forced labor or three years of restricted freedom or one to three years in prison.

Prosecutor Mazmishvili sent his conclusion along with the report. According to the conclusion of June 27 2005 he annulled the illegal conclusion of Nika Merebashvili over the refusal to launch an investigation and Mazmishvili himself opened a new investigation.

Much time has passed since that time and few people care about the fate of a person that is already dead.  Kakha Chumbadze was fired from his job as a result of scandals. He had tensed relationships with regional authority and the head of the regional police department. During Chumbadze’s being in the office investigation on Revaz Jobadze’s criminal activities was launched. The latter was Khashuri district governor. The prosecutor’s office also started to investigate the financial activities of the Gori district administration to find out where three million GEL apportioned by Georgian Prime Minister was properly spent. Short time later Kakha Chumbadze and Vova Jugheli, the head of the regional police department, had quarrel in the restaurant “Nacharmagevi”. Chumbadze was so proud of his position that he told Jugheli everybody should obey him because he was now the first person in the region. Jugheli could not stand his speech and made the prosecutor run around the tables. After the incident Chumbadze was sent back to the Prosecutor General’s office to work.

All in all, real reason for the death of Konstantine Gigauri was not investigated until 2007. Suratia Gigauri appealed to the prosecutor’s office again to find out what they were doing. It is the period when neither Chumbadze nor Aleksi Mazmishvili worked in the region. On June 6 2007, Kakha Muradashvili, the new prosecutor who supervised the investigation wrote the following report.

“I, Kakhaber Muradashvili, Gori District Prosecutor, drew up a report on the following. I spoke with Aleksi Mazmishvili, former Shida Kartli Regional Prosecutor, from my mobile phone 877 99 02 40; his number is 893 55 61 26. I asked whether he had canceled the resolution over the refusal to launch a criminal investigation into the incident. He replied he remembered that exactly in June of 2005 he studied the case materials which were enclosed with the conclusion for not launching an investigation; he canceled the resolution and started preliminary investigation.

He handed one copy of the resolution to the chancellery of the regional prosecutor’s office and enclosed the second one to the case materials and it was sent to the Gori Department of the Internal Ministry for further action,” the report was signed by Muradashvili.

After over-phone conversation with former prosecutor Muradashvili looked for the copy of the resolution at the chancellery but he found a totally different document. He wrote a report on that finding too.

“I asked Marina Khanishvili, the head of the Chancellery at the Shida Kartli Regional Prosecutor’s Office to find the mentioned resolution. She provided us with the resolution of Mazmishvili dated by June 27 2005. The resolution was about the refusal to launch criminal investigation on the incident.”

Consequently, former prosecutor made a copy, handed the original to the chancellery and enclosed the copy to the case materials not doubting that his resolution would have been changed two years later.

Interview of the parties

We got in touch with Kakha Muradashvili.

-Mr. Kakha, why did the resolution of Mazmishvili passed on the death of Konstantine Gigauri disappear?

-What are you speaking about? Two trials were held and the verdict was passed.

-I am not asking about the trial... I have Mazmishvili’s resolution and your report that is in contradiction with the resolution. How can we explain it? Why did the real resolution of Mazmishvili disappear?

-There might have occurred technical mistake however it is not a mistake. Simply, you are not a lawyer and you cannot understand the proper content.

-I am asking you because I can read and understand the meaning of the text. Why do you write that there is Mazmishvili’s resolution in the case materials that cancels a criminal investigation of the incident? However, in fact Mazmishvili demanded to start criminal persecution.

-I will not comment.

 

 


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