Expert in Mzia Amaghlobeli case says ‘no sign’ of injury on slapped police chief’s face

A medical expert has said that Batumi Police chief Irakli Dgebuadze exhibited no signs of injury after being slapped by media director Mzia Amaghlobeli, who was detained over the incident and faces up to seven years in prison if found guilty.

Givi Chkhartishvili gave his testimony as a witness in the case against Amaghlobeli, the detained founder of Batumelebi and Netgazeti, on 16 May at the Batumi City Court.

According to Netgazeti, during the session, Chkhartishvili said that Dgebuadze was presented before him on 12 January, the day after he was slapped by Amaghlobeli.

‘During the forensic medical examination of Irakli Dgebuadze, no objective signs of injury were observed on the body in areas not covered by clothing’, Chkhartishvili said.

He added that he examined Amaghlobeli that same day, and that he found bruises on her left shoulder.

In response, the prosecution asked Chkhartishvili if Dgebuadze had any visible redness on his face when he was brought in for examination, to which Chkhartishvili said that ‘redness is not an objective sign of injury, therefore it is not the subject of my assessment’.

‘I do not remember whether redness was observed at that time. If there was, I do not think it would have been indicated in the conclusion, because redness is not an objective sign of injury’, he said, adding that during the examination, Dgebuadze complained of a slight pain in his right ear, but did not indicate what had caused it.

‘Pain is not a sign of objective damage, pain is a subjective command, a subjective complaint, therefore as a medical expert, I do not have the competence to assess it’, Chkhartishvili said. ‘We can neither deny nor confirm how accurately the person in question conveyed the pain.’

Earlier in May, Dgebuadze said in court that the pain he had felt from Amaghlobeli’s slap was ‘mocked by society’ — reacting to critics who dismissed his account as exaggerated and aimed at justifying the harsh criminal charge and potential years-long prison sentence sought by the prosecution.

‘I went into my office [that evening] and looked in the mirror — I had redness’, Dgebuadze said, once again citing the temporary discoloration of his right cheek and ear as evidence of the alleged intensity behind Amaghlobeli’s slap.

In response, Amaghlobeli said that she will not shy away from responsibility, but firmly maintained that a slap did not constitute assault.

Amaghlobeli was first detained on 11 January for hanging a poster at a pro-European rally in Batumi, but was later released that same day.

Within several minutes of her release, she was detained again on charges of slapping Dgebuadze. The Prosecutor’s Office considered the slap an ‘attack on a police officer’ — a criminal offence which carries a prison sentence of four to seven years.

Batumi Police Chief says Amaghlobeli could avoid imprisonment with ‘simple actions’

Irakli Dgebuadze claimed that he did not intend for the Batumelebi and Netgazeti director to be imprisoned.

OC MediaMikheil Gvadzabia