Jury Court Finds Policeman Guilty of Beating Deaf Minor
The Tbilisi City Court confirmed to Civil.ge that the jury has found policeman Nukri Bakradze guilty of assaulting a 17-year-old disabled youth on January 23, 2022, inside the Isani Metro Station and sentenced him to 5 years imprisonment. Eight out of the twelve jurors supported the guilty verdict.
The investigation was launched by the State Inspector Service, which was still active at the time, and resulted in the arrest of two police officers on January 25.
Bakradze was being investigated for using his official position to humiliate the minor with prior knowledge while the second detainee, Kakha Bakashvili, who witnessed the incident but did not intervene, was accused of abuse of official position. The Tbilisi City Court also confirmed that Bakashvili was released from the Court a month ago after cooperating with the investigation and admitting guilt.
Footage showing the minor being beaten by law enforcement officers was first distributed by the media on January 24, 2022. In one of the videos, the policeman can be seen hitting the young man at least five times, while the other policeman standing next to him does not interfere to stop the violence.
In another video taken before the assault, the policeman can be seen grabbing the hand of the young man while he was standing on the escalator while the person accompanying the minor tried to warn the police officer that he was a “deaf-mute” and to let go of his hand.
“He’s deaf-mute? Shall I get him to speak up now?” the policeman answered and brings the man into the metro station room. “I’m going to get him to speak up now,” he said, and before striking the minor, added that he would not let him go until the young man’s parents would arrive.
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