Acquitted doctor Akhobadze claims key evidence was erased, witnesses lied under oath

"There were plenty of clues that could have led to the identification of specific individuals and at the very least established that they were giving false testimony in court," said doctor Giorgi Akhobadze following his acquittal by Judge Romeo Tkeshelashvili a day before.

According to Akhobadze, much of the key evidence that could have proven his innocence and revealed the truth behind the accusations either no longer exists or was deliberately ignored.

"A large part of the evidence, I believe, is no longer available," he stated. "I addressed the court around four times, including through the judge as required by procedural law. I tried everything — even recited poetry and sang — but there was no reaction."

He criticized the inaction of Shmagi Gobejishvili, who, Akhobadze said, had a legal obligation to initiate an investigation after hearing about events that likely contained elements of a criminal offense. "He didn’t act, even though he was required to by his position."

Akhobadze outlined specific investigative tools that he believes were ignored, such as extracting geolocation data or mobile tower records that could have shown the whereabouts of the involved individuals at the time of the incident. "With that, we could have determined who was actually at the scene and who lied about arriving later to only help move the vehicles after the search ended."

He emphasized that the most critical evidence would have been footage from 112 emergency cameras. "Those cameras would have confirmed my claims — that there were more vehicles involved. We could have tracked them through various surveillance systems, including those around the Central Criminal Police perimeter, internal cameras, and cameras at the entrance of the pretrial detention facility," Akhobadze said.

"Through those, we could have identified individuals like Aleksi Koberidze and proven that his testimony was false — for example, using footage from the detention facility entrance," he added.

Giorgi Akhobadze was arrested on December 7, 2024. He was charged under Article 260, Part 6 of Georgia’s Criminal Code, which pertains to the illegal purchase and possession of large quantities of narcotics. He was found not guilty by the Tbilisi City Court on August 6, but the Prosecutor’s Office has appealed the decision.