Court releases Levan Chachua on 10, 000 GEL bail
By Tatia Megeneishvili
Thursday, November 20
Expert in former Prime Minister of Georgia Zurab Zhvania’s death case Levan Chachua was released on 10, 000 GEL bail on November 18.
Chachua is the former head of the Medical Examination Department of the National Forensics Bureau. He was detained on March 20, 2014 and accused for negligence.
According to the Prosecutor’s Office, while examining Zhvania’s body, Chachua was neglectful and did not document the Zhvanisa’s injuries in enough detail.
The legal prosecution has been underway against Chachua according to the first part of article 342 of Georgia’s Criminal Code, which carries 3 years of imprisonment.
After Chachua’s release, he said that he hoped the judge would have rendered an objective verdict. According to him, his prison term would end in a month anyway. He also added that he stands by the court and wants it to deliver an impartial and just verdict.
"In a month, my term in prison is up anyway. However, the court trial is still underway. I myself seek the truth and want the court to hand down an objective verdict,” stated Chachua.
"Even though I have done nothing wrong, I have spent eight months in jail. I am sure that after the court trial the truth will be uncovered,” stressed Chachua.
The Prosecutor’s Office is against the court’s decision. Prosecutor Revaz Nadoi stated that there is the risk that the accused and his relatives will try to influence witnesses.
“This is not just a theory, we had concrete facts. However, we cannot appeal the court’s decision until the final trial,” stated Nadoi.
Chachua states that he wanted to meet with the family of Zhvania, but Zhvania’s wife Nino Kadagidze said that Chachua and ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili did not wish to meet her.
“This case is not show, I ask everyone to let it flow as it should. There were many questions in my husband’s case. It is the expert’s job to document everything exactly and not let anyone cover up the case’s details,” stated Kadagidze.
Zhvania, one of the co-authors of the Rose Revolution and a member of the triumvirate, together with Mikheil Saakashvili and Nino Burjanadze, was found dead in a flat together with regional deputy governor Raul Yusupov on February 3, 2005.
The investigation of Zhvania’s case was reopened after the elections on October 1, 2012. The official cause of death released by the former government was carbon monoxide poisoning. Family members of Zhvania and Yusupov state that the individuals were murdered.
