Judge Darejan Kvaratskhelia of the Senaki District Court upheld the restraining measure applied to 30-year-old Indiko Bzhalava, the guard of Balda Canyon. The defense requested to replace the imprisonment with bail, but the judge denied this request. The next trial is scheduled for July 31.
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Indiko Bzhalava was an active participant in the Balda protest. On June 12, the Martvil police arrested him on the charge of threatening to kill someone, and on June 14, the Senaki District Court sentenced him to prison.
A journalistic investigation by the publication Mtis Ambebi revealed that Indiko Bzhalava was arrested on political grounds. The only witness in the criminal case against him provided false testimony. In an interview with Mtis Ambebi, eyewitnesses of the incident exposed Sophia Shakulashvili, the woman identified as the victim by the prosecutor's office, as a false witness. The witnesses' testimonies confirm that there was no threat from Indiko Bzhalava. The Prosecutor's Office has not questioned these witnesses so far.
The woman who accuses Indiko Bzhalava of threatening to kill her is the wife of Gela Khurtsilava. In April, Gela Khurtsilava was employed by the company to which Balda Canyon was transferred for 40 years due to numerous violations of the law. On June 11, an armed Gela Khurtsilava, together with his brother, attacked the guards of Balda Canyon and inflicted seven wounds on Mindia Bzhalava with a knife. The prosecutor's office has accused him of attempted murder.
They have pitched a tent for nine months in the village of Balda in Martvili, Samegrelo, continuously guarding against the company that plans to concretize a unique natural monument, arrange a roller coaster, suspended walkway, bridges, and overlooks, all to profit from Balda Canyon. This construction will completely alter the canyon's original appearance. Located in the middle of the village, the canyon is no longer accessible to locals because the so-called investor has completely fenced it off and installed security police. The major owners of the company are Ani Giunashvili, the mother of the former chairman of the Agency for Protected Areas, Valerian Mchedlidze, and Mamuka Merkviladze, the de facto ambassador of Georgia to Russia. Levan Tsitskishvili, an employee of the multi-million dollar program funded by the German Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and Ani Mossanelidze, the wife of Valerian Mchedlidze's business partner and former chairman of the Adventure Tourism Development Association, Joni Kapanadze, each hold 5% shares. The guards of Balda Canyon are being harassed as much as possible by the company and the government.
