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MD Prisoner Hunger Striking in Zugdidi Prison # 4 over Death of Patient

August 1, 2008

Nana Pazhava, Zugdidi

Yesterday Soso Makatsaria, a surgeon of Senaki Central Hospital started hunger striking in Zugdidi Prison # 4. Soso Makatsaria’s trial was held yesterday. He sentenced to two months of preliminary detention. The law enforcers took him into custody directly from the court room. Soso Makatsaria was charged with accidentally ending a persons life because of carelessness, a crime prescribed described under Part I of Article 116 of the Criminal Code of Georgia. Kartlos Esebua was injured in a car accident 10 months ago. Makatsaria proceeded to operate on him. The patient died in five hours after having been placed in the intensive care unit. The doctor pleads not guilty and now plans to appeal the court decision to the Court of Appeals.

The car accident occurred on Tbilisi-Senaki-Leselidze car main road on September 27th, 2007. Kartlos Esebua, the car passenger and G. Khubunaia, the driver were placed in Senaki Central Hospital. Esebua was in a critical condition. He was being treated for shock. He also had disjointed right thigh. In two hours and 15 minutes after having transported to hospital the patient was moved to the operation room. He was narcotized for joining the disjointed part of the body. Soon the patient was in cardiac arrest. However, the doctors managed to renew the heart function by taking immediate action to bring him back. 

An extract from the doctor’s record: “In two hours after having started the operation and in 4 hours and 15 minutes after having placed the patient in hospital, the patient was moved to the intensive care department. The heart stopped beating within 15 minutes. The heart function was restored. However, in 1 hour and 15 minutes the heart stopped for the third time and the resuscitation activities were unsuccessful.  On 1:40 a.m., September 28th, in 5 hours and 10 minutes after being placed in hospital the patient was dead.”

 The criminal case was launched on the car accident on the very same day when the accident occurred. However, S.S. Khubunaia, the driver has not been convicted as of yet. Allegedly, he was driving a car under the influence of alcoholic. The family of late Esebua has been demanding to arrest Soso Makatsaria from the day of Esebua’s death. 

Three forensic analyses were conducted to Kartlos Esebua’s body. The first one was conducted by Poti Court forensic experts, the second one by Kutaisi L. Samkharauli National Bureau for Expertise and the third one by the Association of Doctors of Georgian, which were more like a recommendation.

The analysis conducted by G. Lomidze, the head of Tbilisi State Medical University and the president of the Association of Surgeons of Georgia proves that Soso Makatsaria was innocent. However, the doctor was arrested based on the conclusion of Kutaisi National Bureau of Expertise.

According to this conclusion, the patient had a wound on his right lung which was caused by medical manipulation and which injured bottom part of the right lung. “According to the surgeon’s record, the patient’s heart stopped before the function of pleura cavity was conducted. It was indicated in the surgeon’s record that the function pleura cavity was planned for 23 p.m. After 23 p.m. the patient’s heart had stopped again. The lung was injected, the arterial pressure rose and the blood accumulated in the pleura cavity, which attributed to the patient’s death. Why did the surgeon make the local anesthesia during laparocentesis when he had had narcotized the patient?!”

Soso Makatsaria, the accused rejected all charges in Zugdidi District Court and pleaded not guilty. He protested against the court decision by starting a hunger strike the next day in Zugdidi Prison # 4.

Paata Sotkilava, an attorney: “The accused announced open-ended hunger strike. Soso Makatsaria considers that the charges against him are baseless and the case materials and the expertise results are used in favor of particular persons. The court rejected the conclusion provided by the Association of Doctors of Georgia, and it failed to take into account that the crime was not very grave. The court also did not uphold my request for bail pending trial.”

The attorney states that the defense might request the overall expertise amid controversial evidence.

 

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