Maka Malakmadze, Batumi
The family of Roin Shavadze, soldier who was first tortured and then murdered has been offered money in exchange for keeping quiet about the case. Otherwise it is claimed that either drugs or weapon will planted on family members, or they will become the victims of some accident. Tsitsino Shavadze, wife of the murdered soldier, and her brother have already shared information about the brutal threats with the prosecutor’s office of the Adjara Autonomous Republic. Yesterday, Sozar Subari, Georgian Public Defender, visited the family.
Tsitsino Shavadze recalled that initially Vasil Roinishvili, prosecutor of Adjara Autonomous Republic, threatened her in his office on August 29, 2008. Then other people repeated the same threat and demanded that they keep silence and offered money in exchange for silence. “I was at the shop and a strange person stopped me and warned unless I kept silence my family would be subjected to oppression because it was ordered from higher authorities. I was offered 15 000 GEL and paying off all the credits taken from the bank. In exchange for this compensation I was to keep silence but if I refused they would threaten my family, including my brothers and sisters. They told my relatives would be framed drugs or even weapon would be found on them; it was even possible that we might end up dead in car-accident. They also told me that although Sozar Subari protects me today, tomorrow he will be moved to other position and will not be able to protect you.”
The wife of the murdered person is not going to keep silence. “As long as I am alive I want to prove the innocence of Roma. I need truth: our blood and flesh cannot be sold off. I need only truth and to fulfill the demand that everybody who tortured my husband is punished.”
Family members of Tsitsino Shavadze have also been threatened. Thus, they applied to the Prosecutor’s Office of Adjara Autonomous Republic on November 10. “Two strangers visited me at the car-service center and warned unless we were willing to accept money and keep silence they would plant drug or weapon on our persons. However, did not introduce who they were,” said Amiran Kontselidze.
Initially Shavadze was accused of being a traitor and betraying his homeland. Riot police, who arrested and beat Roin Shavadze in Zviad Gamsakhurdia Street in Batumi on August 16, repeated the accusation all the time. Witnesses stated that “nearly 20 armed people attacked Shavadze, pushed him down and beat him ruthlessly and cried out how he was a traitor.’
However, officially a sergeant from Batumi was charged for the illegal purchase and storage of drugs, and this was according to the Article 260, paragraph II-a, of the Georgian Criminal Code. In addition, the official report reads how he was killed while trying to escape law enforcers. The investigation of his alleged murder is justified under the Article 180 of the Criminal Code, which deals with cases of premeditated murder as a crime. Nevertheless, the family has not been found a victim yet.
Ramin Papidze, attorney of Shavadze, states that everything that happened has been intentional in order not to keep materials that support the case of the victim from being introduced into the investigation and case materials. Papidze has already applied to the prosecutor’s office several times and requested permission to study case materials and to be involved in the investigation. “Initially, we were refused the opportunity to study case materials because they had not received any expertise conclusion as yet. Now, we appealed to them for the second time. 10 days have passed but there is no reply yet. We intend to appeal against this fact, as this is not based on the law.”
According to the family’s lawyer, the expert forensic conclusion of the medical examination of Roin Shavadze’s body has already been provided to the Prosecutor’s Office.
Public Defender drew parallels between the murders and Shavadze and Girgvliani (assassinated by high-ranking officials from the Ministry of Internal Affairs). “Roin Shavadze is just a repeat of Girgvliani’s assassination. However, there is one difference because Shavadze was killed more cynically then was Girgvliani. In the older case, authority had to eventually yield to the society and several murderers were punished in the end. In Shavadze’s case, however, nobody is supposed to be punished. Moreover, the family is being oppressed. Initially, prosecutor Roinishvili threatened the family, and today they are still being threatened with murder. They have been offered money ranging from 15,000 GEL to 50,000 GEL. The family is offered to exchange the dead person for money and keep silent.
This is incredibly “cynical” and is on the level of blackmail, especially as this is a case that is known throughout the world. However, it is only the Georgian president who is official uninformed about it. Nonetheless, unofficially, he is aware of everything. In addition, the Georgian Minister of Internal Affairs also does not know about the case but at the same time he is spreading false and misleading information about Roin Shavadze’s murder.“
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