Georgian jury acquits taxi driver who left Russian-speaking tourists outside the city
Taxi driver trial in Georgia
Jurors have acquitted a taxi driver who drove two Russian-speaking tourists out of town against their will and abandoned them.
According to lawyer Irakli Chomakhashvili, jurors of the Rustavi City Court unanimously, by twelve votes, found taxi driver Amiran Bokuchava, accused of illegally depriving two Russian citizens of liberty on ethnic grounds, not guilty. The prosecution had asked for imprisonment for a term of seven to ten years.
The prosecutor’s office published a different version of events. It said the taxi driver brought the citizens of Lithuania and Russia from the Tbilisi airport to their destination, but a dispute arose between them because of the cost of the trip. Then the driver brought the passengers out of town, where he abandoned them.
Defense’s version
According to the defense, the dispute between the driver and passengers arose due to the taxi driver’s unwillingness to speak Russian, and the driver playing Ukrainian music in the vehicle.
“The jurors held that it is not a crime to play Ukrainian music to Russians. I want to thank the people; today we defeated Russian imperialism on behalf of the people,” Chomakhashvili writes.
The lawyer confirmed that after the quarrel, Amiran Bokuchava brought the passengers to Gombori (an area east of Tbilisi) and left them there.
“The Russians lied to the court that they were taken by force, in fact there was no violence – he deceived them and told them to walk from Gombori to the hotel on foot, they got angry and sued. The Russians, as they are used to, humiliated our country. Thus, the indictment stated that the inclusion of Ukrainian music specifically for Russians is discrimination. The jury concluded that this was neither discrimination nor imprisonment,” the lawyer explained on Facebook.
- 723 Russian citizens have received Georgian citizenship in 2022
- Russian citizens in Georgia in 2022: more than 600 companies and 2,000 residence permits
Prosecutor’s version
On September 9, the Georgian prosecutor’s office issued a statement that the taxi driver was not accused of forcing Russian tourists to listen to a Ukrainian song.
“According to the investigation conducted by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, it was established that on April 11, 2022, at about 04:30, citizens of Lithuania and Russia were traveling from Tbilisi International Airport to a hotel located near the Dry Bridge in Tbilisi by Yandex taxi, where the defendant demanded they pay 195 lari (about $68.5) for the trip, which was several times higher than the cost of the trip indicated on the app – 23 lari.”
According to the prosecutor’s office, there was a quarrel between the passengers and the taxi driver, during which the passengers suggested that the driver go to the nearest police station and they resolve the issue of damages in court. The driver, offended by that, headed back towards the Tbilisi International Airport.
Instead of the police station, the driver brought the victims to a deserted place in the direction of the village of Vaziani, Gardabani region, without stopping the car, with the doors locked against their will, and demanded 500 lari ($175) in exchange for their release.
“On the road from Vaziani to Kakheti, passengers seized the moment and jumped out of a stopped car, but the accused tried to prevent the victims from doing so and moved the car again, due to which one of the passengers fell out of the car and received injuries to the face and limbs. After the passengers jumped out of the car, the accused fled the scene,” the message also says.
The prosecutor’s office claims that such “replication of lies” by a lawyer violates ethical standards:
“We urge the authors of the above false information to refrain from creating and spreading fake news using topics sensitive to the public.”
Taxi driver trial in Georgia
