Georgia, Tbilisi, Nov. 16 / Trend N.Kirtskhalia /
A request was submitted to Georgian Prosecutor's Office to re-investigate the case of abduction for ransom and the murder of Levan Kaladze, brother of a famous football player, currently Energy Minister Kakha Kaladze.
The request was made by lawyer Irma Chkadua on behalf of Levan Tsintsadze, convicted for the murder and his mother Mediko Korkotashvili.
According to the lawyer, Tsintsadze, who was sentenced to 25 years, denies his guilt and says his accusation was fabricated.
"There are a number of uncertainties in the case including evidence from the cemetery director who said 125 corpses were exhumed in Ortachal cemetery in the night when Levan Kaladze's corpse was found. The case was solved on the basis of Amisulashvili's testimony, although there is evidence that before the testimony he was abducted by police and tortured. In addition, Levan Tsintsadze was sick at the time when the crime was committed and has a medical certificate, " Chkadua said noting that, the family has a right to know how and by whom Levan Kaladze was killed.
The mother of the convicted Mediko Korkotashvili, for her part, said after the change of power she has the hope that justice will be restored.
In May 2001, a 21-year old student of the Tbilisi Medical University Levan Kaladze was kidnapped in Tbilisi by unidentified men. A few days later the kidnappers demanded a ransom from Kaladze's family of $600.000 and later $300.000.
Levan Kaladze's corpse was found by police in a ravine on the outskirts of Tbilisi four years later, on January 4, 2006. Later, the four suspected Georgian citizens were detained in Switzerland, France and Russia.
In December 2007, the Tbilisi court found Levan Tsintsadze guilty of kidnapping and murdering Levan Kaladze, and sentenced him to 25 years imprisonment. In March 2007, the Tbilisi court sentenced David Asatiani to 25 years in prison. Merab Amisulashvili was sentenced to five years in prison, as he agreed to testify against his accomplice.