Investigator Salome Edisherashvili, who was questioned in the case of Saba Skhirtladze — a member of the “Coalition for Change” accused of assaulting police officer Mirian Kavtaradze — left the courthouse amid noise and shouting.

Cries of “Servant Edisherashvili” accompanied her exit from the courtroom. She had to be escorted out by police officers. A large number of police are currently mobilized near the Tbilisi City Court. One person, Giorgi Chkheidze, has been detained.

During the hearing, Edisherashvili spoke about the investigative actions she conducted. When asked by lawyer Irakli Chomakhashvili whether she had inspected the scene of the incident, she replied no. Regarding why footage from the area near the "Courtyard Marriott" was not retrieved, she said, "Footage capturing the crime has already been secured."

Asked whether a habidoscopic examination was requested to determine, among other things, whether the video was edited, she responded that no such examination was requested since the video had been streamed live.

When asked whether she could hear Skhirtladze saying in the video, “How do you hit a woman?” Edisherashvili answered, “I think it was that.”

The lawyer also questioned her about officer Luka Jincharadze's indication that the incident occurred at “Tbilisi Marriott.” Edisherashvili said, “There are two Marriotts, it was a technical error. The video clearly shows where the incident took place.” Asked whether that error was hers or the witnesses’, she replied, “It could be mine, or it could be the witnesses’.”

To the question of whether Kavtaradze could be heard in the video saying, “I’m a police officer, don’t hit me,” she replied, “I don’t remember.”

When asked whether she saw Mirian Kavtaradze strike a citizen in the video footage, Edisherashvili said, “The moment of the hit isn’t clearly visible; that is not within my competence, it’s for the Special Investigative Service.”

The lawyer argued that in order for someone to be charged with assaulting a police officer, they must have known the person was an officer. He asked whether she had questioned the officers about why they weren’t in uniform. Edisherashvili responded, “Wearing civilian clothes is not a crime.” She also said she had not interrogated Kavtaradze.

Asked whether Kavtaradze’s prior actions were important for establishing the truth in the case, Edisherashvili answered yes.

“In the footage you’re showing, it’s clear that Saba Skhirtladze is standing away from Mirian Kavtaradze. His actions fall outside my area of competence,” she added.

When asked by lawyer Gogita Gabaidze if she noticed any scratches on Skhirtladze’s forehead when he was brought into her office, Edisherashvili said no.

“I didn’t see anything, I didn’t examine him. If he had significant injuries, I would have noticed. However, my colleague recorded any injuries or scratches he had,” she said.

Asked whether Skhirtladze was held on the 5th floor of the department and whether he was subjected to violence there, Edisherashvili said, “He was brought calmly and quietly into my office, without handcuffs. As far as I know, he was brought directly to the 8th floor,” and added that at the moment Skhirtladze was being visually inspected, he was not in her line of sight.

Saba Skhirtladze himself also questioned her.

“When Mr. Teodore inspected my injuries and pointed them out, why didn’t you ask where I got them from?” he asked. The investigator replied, “Saba wasn’t providing any information.”

“When I was asking for a lawyer and an ambulance, why didn’t you bring them?” he asked again, to which Edisherashvili responded:

“You didn’t say anything. You were sitting calmly. I didn’t hand you any bag.”