Tbilisi court of appeal didn’t modify Sighnaghi District Court verdict and acquitted businessman Levan Bidzinashvili.
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Levan Bidzinashvili was arrested on December 4, 2021, on Tsnori-Tibaani road, and was imprisoned for 8 months on the charge of illegal possession of firearm. Bidzinashvili did not admit the guilt and claimed that they planted gun. In a letter sent from prison, he described that the real reason for his arrest was the land owned by his family, which he did not give up in favor of high-ranking officials.
“We talked about it for about 1 year. They sent former employee from state security service who told me that Sighnaghi police chief and his friends needed 200 hectares of land in Kakheti and I had to give away 70 hectares that belong to the state and that my wife inherited from her late father with a 49-year lease. I should have shut up and resigned, which I did not agree to. They told me, if I didn't do it, I would be punished, and they did it to me shortly after threatening me”, said Levan Bidzinashvili at the session held in Sighnaghi district court. According to the defendant's explanation, his DNA on the pistol, which according to the policemen was found on him, was transferred by the policemen themselves with his saliva.
Prosecutor's office demanded Bidzinashvili to be found guilty under the third and fourth parts of Article 236 of the Criminal Code, which refers to Illegal purchase, storage, carrying, manufacturing, transportation, forwarding or sale of firearms (other than hunting smooth-bore firearms (shotguns)), ammunition, explosives or explosive devices. If found guilty, Levan Bidzinashvili could be imprisoned for 4 to 7 years.
After eight months of imprisonment, on August 8, 2022, judge of Sighnaghi district court, Aleksandre Lomidze, acquitted the accused and released him from the courtroom.
The Prosecutor's Office appealed the verdict in the Tbilisi Court of Appeal and demanded its annulment. It is possible to appeal the judgment passed today by Tbilisi Court of Appeal judge Vefkhvia Lomidze in the Supreme Court, whose decision is final.
Despite the district court and then the appeal court verdict, prosecutor's office has not yet initiated a criminal case for abuse of authority and falsification of evidence by law enforcement officers.
