Maia Kukhaleishvili is the sole witness in the criminal case, whose testimony led to the arrest of the 30-year-old Balda Canyon guard, Indiko Bzhalava.
In Samegrelo, in the village of Balda, Martvili, a tent has been pitched for eight months where they have continuously guarded against the resumption of construction by a company to which the government has illegally handed over the natural monument for 40 years.
Similar to Prometheus Cave, Sataplia Nature Reserve, Martvili and Okatse Canyons, Balda has also been seized by a group of former and current high-ranking officials from the Georgian Dream government. Canyon 350 LLC, owned by Ani Giunashvili, the mother of former chairman of the Agency for Protected Areas Valerian Mchedlidze, and Mamuka Merkviladze, the actual ambassador of Georgia to Russia, is involved.
The private owners have fenced off Balda Canyon completely for 2 kilometres, deployed security personnel, and prohibited residents from visiting the natural monument.
Despite repeated attacks, beatings, and harassment of the guardians of Balda Canyon by state services acting on behalf of the Investor, the local population continues to fight to preserve the natural monument.
Indiko Bzhalava was an active participant in the Balda protest. Martvili police arrested him on June 12 on charges of threatening to kill, effectively halting the protest.
Sopho Shakulashvili, a woman from the village of Bzhalava, filed a complaint with the Bzhalava police. Her husband had been employed by the company that owned Balda Canyon until two months ago.
The incident occurred on June 11 around 8 o'clock in the evening, following Sophio Shakulashvili's complaint. Indiko Bzhalava, the guardian of Balda Canyon, was en route from his home to his recently deceased father's grave. Sopho Shakulashvili accused him of making threats to kill her.
According to case records, Sopho Shakulashvili called 112 at 9:33 PM, nearly an hour and a half after the incident. Martvili police interviewed the woman at 1:19 AM on June 12, nearly four hours after receiving the report.
The police only contacted Sopho Shakulashvili after her husband and brother-in-law, armed with a hunting rifle and a knife, attacked the Balda Canyon guards on June 11 at 11 PM, injuring Mindia and Archil Bzhalavas and threatening others.
Villagers managed to disarm Gela and Giga Khurtsilavas, tie them up, and hand them over to the police. Sopho Shakulashvili's husband faces charges of attempted murder of Balda Canyon guards, and brother-in-law is accused of making death threats. The crime carries a penalty of up to 15 years in prison. The accused brothers are represented by lawyers hired by Canyon 350 company.
What really happened on June 11
"When I came home from work, I didn't even go inside; that's when this happened. Indiko was coming down the road above. When he saw me and my disabled son in the yard, he greeted us. He blessed the good people and cursed the traitors of the village. He didn't single out anyone, he referred to them in plural, calling them traitors of the village. He neither verbally insulted nor threatened anyone," Maia Kukhaleishvili, the sole witness in the criminal case against Indiko Bzhalava, told us. Her account contradicts the content attributed to her in the police investigation report:
"He verbally insulted, specifically calling Sopho names like 'sellers, your everything... village sellers, we should kill you.' As I observed Indiko Bzhalava's agitation while he shouted and threatened to kill Sopho, I called out to him from my yard, telling him to leave her alone. ...Indiko Bzhalava then resumed verbally abusing Sopho and making threats (I will kill you). ...To answer your question, on June 11, 2024, Indiko Bzhalava verbally abused Sopho Shakulashvili and threatened to kill her," the report from investigator Eliso Zarkua stated.
Maia Kukhaleishvili insists her testimony was falsified by the Martvili police investigator: "You saw their altercation; you must testify. My blood pressure was 200; I was waiting for an ambulance. When the ambulance arrived, the investigator left. They provided medical assistance to me. Even if the doctors left, the investigator returned in half an hour. I still wasn't feeling well; I asked for more time, but she didn't give me an option. When she took my statement, she confused me; she likely wanted to write her own version. I even told her I wouldn't lie about what I hadn't seen. There were no threats, no insults. She said a lot, even about the village sellers and cursed. When she asked if I read it, I said I couldn't. When I got my glasses, I still couldn't read it. 'Well, then sign it,' she said, and I signed it."
"Did the investigator read the inquiry report to you?"
"No, she was in a hurry. I thought she would write what I dictated and what I said."
"Did you mention 'I will kill you' during the interrogation with the investigator?"
"No."
Maia Kukhaleishvili knows that speaking the truth, now in our interview and later during the court session, could lead the prosecutor's office to hold her responsible under the guise of altering her testimony: "Do I want this now? I am already poor; I take care of two children and work daily, earning only 60 GEL. I share my hardships."
However, we have obtained evidence supporting the assumption that Maia Kukhaleishvili's testimony was falsified by the investigator, confirming biased investigation and indicating Indiko Bzhalava's innocence of the charges brought against him.
Other witnesses
The woman sitting next to Maia Kukhaleishvili during the interview recording is her daughter, Natia Nachkibia. She also witnessed the incident that led to the arrest of Baldi Canyon guard Indiko Bzhalava. Natia Nachkebia affirms that Bzhalava was not threatened by anyone.
Why is Maia Kukhaleishvili the sole witness in the criminal case? When asked by the investigator who else witnessed Indiko Bzhalava threatening her, Sopho Shakulashvili responded: "The threat and verbal abuse were witnessed by my neighbor Maia Nachkebia, who told him to go away, leave this woman alone."
Sopho Shakulashvili did not mention any other witnesses in any of her testimonies, despite being interviewed three times over two days before Indiko Bzhalava's arrest.
Why did Sopho Shakulashvili conceal other witnesses? The yards of her and Kukhaleishvili's houses are separated by a wire fence, and everything is visible. It is impossible for Shakulashvili not to have seen that there were more than two people in the neighbour's yard at the time of the incident. Our attempts to get an answer from her ended with her calling the police, as if we had intruded into her house.
Despite there being other witnesses to the incident, Maia Kukhaleishvili's testimony hides this crucial fact: "Nino and Natia were inside the house, and I was outside with my disabled son Data Kukhaleishvili in his wheelchair."
This part of Kukhaleishvili's testimony was also falsified by the investigator. Irrefutable evidence that we obtained in the form of a video-audio recording confirms that Maia Kukhaleishvili was indeed in the yard with her three children, one of whom is a minor aged 17. The law does not prohibit questioning a minor as a witness in accordance with relevant regulations. However, he has not yet been questioned as a witness.
Evidence
It is the video shot by a minor eyewitness that truly shows the threat, not by Indiko Bzhalava towards the woman known to be the victim, but the other way around.
Sopho Shakulashvili: "What do you want? Did I hurt you? Why are you running towards my house?"
Indiko Bzhalava: "Where have I entered?"
Sopho Shakulashvili: "Exactly, I'm a woman and you're insulting me at my doorstep."
Indiko Bzhalava: "Who? Where did you get that from? Go on, what do you want, why did you come out?"
Sopho Shakulashvili: "I'm going to break your head, boy, don't let yourself make a mistake. I learned how to make videos from you. Look at this garbage, that you are. That is, they will throw you on the bed, throw you in the house, curse you, who are you, what are you..."
We asked Natia Nachkebia why they decided to make a video: "Sopho was shouting at Indiko, so why did he run towards home. We realized that she was going for provocation and decided to shoot her from here too."
Indiko Bzhalava's threat to take her life, which Sopho Shakulashvili seemed to have a well-founded fear of carrying out, is not confirmed by the video taken by her on her phone, which was removed by the investigator on the grounds of urgent necessity. Sopho Shakulashvili introduced this recording to the representatives of Canyoni 350 LLC before its removal. After that, 112 was called for the police to respond. The video was shared on the social network page managed by Canyon 350.
Indiko Bzhalava: "Do you speak Megrelian?"
Sofio Shakulashvili: "What are you interested in? Do you know who I am at all? What do you want from me, my son? You're somebody. I'm a woman, what are you going to do, and why are you cursing here? Why are you throwing us out, what do you want? Well, why are you shouting here and why are you coming here, who are you?"
In none of the video recordings does Sopho Shakulashvili mention the word "threat" or point to Indiko Bzhalava threatening to take her life. Instead, she only complains about verbal abuse and assault.
However, after her husband and brother-in-law attacked the guards of Balda Canyon and wounded two of them, in the testimony given to the investigator, Sopho Shakulashvili repeated 10 times that Indiko Bzhalava threatened to kill her.
"He shouted, 'We must kill you and kill you... You should be killed.' I was afraid when Indiko Bzhalava stood near the gate of my yard, shouting, 'You idiots, we must kill you, I will kill you.' I grabbed my mobile phone and went outside to record Indiko Bzhalava's screams, curses, and threats. I threw the phone from the yard towards Indiko Bzhalava and started filming. When he saw the phone, he stopped shouting, cursing, and threatening me, and instead began speaking to me in a harsh manner. He was interrupted by a car passing by, which picked him up. At that point, I stopped filming. After a short distance, the car turned around, stopped again at my gate, and Indiko Bzhalava got out while the car drove away. From the street, Indiko Bzhalava continued shouting, cursing, and threatening me, saying 'You must be killed, you must be killed.' I genuinely feared for my life because he persistently threatened to kill me."
Witnesses do not confirm that Indiko Bzhalava returned to Sopho Shakulashvili's house after leaving and continued insulting or threatening her.
In her testimony, Sopho Shakulashvili indicates that the distance between her and Indiko Bzhalava was about 10 meters at the time of the alleged threat. Upon reviewing the videos and observing the location, it becomes evident that this distance is at least three times longer. Despite this, the investigator stated in the report as evidence that Indiko Bzhalava rushed toward Sopho Shakulashvili.
A fourth witness to prove the Balda Canyon guard's innocence
Mtis Ambebi has also tracked down the fourth witness of the incident, whose account directly contradicts the testimony attributed to Maia Kukhaleishvili by the investigator, forming the basis for Indiko Bzhalava's arrest. Keto Silagava, who is also Sopho Shakulashvili's neighbor, stated:
"He didn't say these things (I will kill you and I will kill you) to Sopho. If he had said that, I would have definitely understood. He was speaking loudly. I was in the yard hoeing. He did not threaten anyone, I swear on my children, I am telling the truth."
Indiko Bzhalava has been in prison for almost a month, and Keto Silagava has not been questioned by the investigation.
Martvili police investigator Eliso Zarkua declined to respond to Mtis Ambebi inquiries regarding the alleged falsification of Maia Kukhaleishvili's interview protocol and the case of Indiko Bzhalava.
Revaz Jalaghonia, the prosecutor who used the allegedly forged testimony of the sole witness to charge the Balda Canyon guard and send him to prison, stated:
"I did not request his arrest based solely on the testimony of the witness. The victim was also questioned in the criminal case. There is another witness who was also questioned, a direct witness."
- Is the second witness Maia Kukhaleishvili?"
-It remains to be determined under what circumstances and how this interview protocol was obtained. Based on the discussion of the criminal case, a final decision will be made."
Now, with the cancellation of the decision to lease the canyon for 40 years, the primary demand of the Baldi protesters is the release of Indiko Bzhalava.
