Abuser of Rustavi 2 TV Director released on bail
By Tea Mariamidze
Wednesday, January 11
The son of the former opposition leader, Rati Gachechiladze, who was detained for physically abusing Rustavi 2 TV Director General Nika Gvaramia, was released on 5000 Gel bail on Tuesday.
Judge Giorgi Keratishvili sentenced the detainee to bail without pre-trial detention. Gachechiladze was released after the trial and left the court without any comments.
The investigation is underway under Article 126 of the Criminal Code of Georgia, which pertains to beating or other violence that led to the victim's physical or mental suffering.
However, the defence side says the case was not adequately qualified and they demand the investigation was re-qualified under Article 156, which refers to indirect persecution or violence against a person who has a political past.
Gvaramia’s lawyer, Dimitri Sadzaglishvili, believes the law enforcers did their best to give a lighter qualification to the case.
“This was a politically motivated attack, which is why the case should be re-qualified,” Sadzaglishvili stressed.
He has already filed a statement to the Ministry of Internal Affairs about the re-qualification of the article.
Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) also have some questions about the issue. They believe that violence should be followed by a more severe sentence.
They also say it should be investigated if the crime was committed by a group of people, as reported by the victim.
“This was violence which implies more severe punishment. Moreover, the Court should have taken into account that the abuser does not consider his action as a problem,” Giorgi Mshvenieradze, the head of Georgia’s Democratic Initiative said.
The incident happened in a restaurant on Saturday evening. As the victim, Gvaramia explained he and his friends were attacked unexpectedly, when the lights went out in the Dining Room restaurant.
After the incident, Gvaramia called the police and reported the assault. He was taken to the hospital where he was diagnosed with a brain concussion.
Soon after the incident, Gachechiladze pleaded guilty in his Facebook post and said that he alone attacked Rustavi 2 TV Director, adding that his family “had suffered a lot” because of Gvaramia.
