Mariana Choloiani, arrested for Luka Siradze's case released from prison
By Nika Gamtsemlidze
Friday, August 6
Investigator Mariana Choloiani was released from prison, the information was confirmed by her lawyer, Gagi Mosiashvili. Choloiani was arrested after 15-year-old Luka Siradze committed suicide. She was accused of coercing the victim into admitting to the crime.
Siradze's brother talked about it with Formula TV, calling it unacceptable and derogatory. She was sentenced in September 2020 to three years in prison for coercion to testify.
The Georgian Young Lawyers' Association issued a special statement saying that this is a direct incitement to any crime that may be committed by law enforcement. According to them, only one person was arrested in the case of Luka Siradze, and the investigation was ineffective concerning other parts.
According to the GYLA Chairman, the commission was not interested in the position of Luka Siradze's family and all this indicates that there is no fair investigation in the country.
According to the organization, Luka Siradze was summoned to the police station in December 2019 for questioning because of the graffiti on the walls of the Green School. The questioning, conducted by Mariana Choloiani but also involved other police officers. It was conducted under psychological violence. Following the interrogation, he attempted suicide and died on December 17, 2019, as a result of the injuries received.
The Green School appealed to the police to launch an investigation because on the territory of the school someone had left various inscriptions late at night. According to sources, it was believed to be done by 15-year-old Luka Siradze, who was a former student of the Green School.
According to GYLA, during the interrogation, Luka Siradze was confronted with his former classmate and was psychologically abused during questioning, after which he jumped from the ninth floor. For several days he was in a coma.
According to GYLA, Choloiani is also present on May 26, 2011, the so-called Kintsvisi case, when Nikoloz Goguadze was arrested. According to the statement of the organization, Goguadze was arrested near the Kintsvisi Monastery Complex, after which, he suffered from psychological and physical abuse at the hands of the investigators in an attempt to coerce him into pleading guilty.
Choloiani denied accusations of abuse in court. However, in 2019, the European Court of Human Rights has established that mistreatment took place.
