An incident recently took place between Gurjaani residents and police in the town center. The reason for the conflict was a 20-year-old resident of the village of Akhasheni, Aleksandre Noniashvili, whom police arrested on June 13 on charges of robbery committed last year. As the detainee’s family states, the police planted marijuana on the suspect during his arrest.

Noniashvili’s family went to the police station to clarify the situation and demanded an explanation from the arresting officers. This led to a conflict in the street, which soon erupted into a physical altercation. Police officer Aleksandre Mamniashvili verbally assaulted the arrestee’s mother and physically abused the father.

According to Tamar Noniashvili, the arrestee’s sister, “We were at the investigator’s. After we had left, mother saw the officer who had arrested my brother driving around. Mother stopped the car and demanded an explanation as to why her son had been detained, and how the drugs had come to be in his pocket. Instead of giving answering calmly, the policeman called mother a whore. A serious incident followed.” Alika Noniashvili, the father of the suspect, would not stand to see his wife insulted and warned the officer. The incident turned into a clash. Dozens of policemen and the arrestee’s family severely beat each other. The fight lasted for several minutes, and two people - Mamniashvili and one of Noniashvili’s relatives – were injured. They were taken to the regional hospital, where they are currently in stable condition.

A monitoring group from the ombudsman’s office has intervened. According to Paata Gotsiridze, Liberty Institute representative in Kakheti and monitoring group member, the suspect told them, “The police have persecuted me for years. I never committed the crime I’ve been charged with. That’s why the police had insufficient evidence and had to plant drugs on me in order to detain me.

Noniashvili served a sentence three years ago, at the age of 17. Law enforcers also claim that Noniashvili robbed a shop in Akhasheni village last year. According to chief inspector Archil Bozhadze, Noniashvili was declared wanted early on June 13, and picked up the same evening. Reportedly, the police had planted marihuana on him to secure his arrest, but after bringing him to the police station they changed the charges. It is also noteworthy that the police made a number of violations with this “special operation.” For example, there were no eyewitnesses during the search. Investigator Gogi Pasikashvili explained this, claiming that the suspect himself had asked that no witnesses be present.

Supposedly, the police even beat Noniashvili during his arrest, and due to this claim a forensic examination has been ordered. The incident is under investigation, and the inquiry plans to interrogate the 300 people who witnessed the clash.