14:20, 11 October 2021

Those accused of death of residents of high-rise building in Batumi refused to plead guilty

Collapse of a high-rise apartment building in Batumi. Screenshot: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCRXIxRkQmM

The owner of an apartment in a Batumi high-rise building, accused of violating safety rules during repair works, simply wanted to unite two apartments on the ground floor, Ramin Papidze, an advocate, has stated.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on October 8, a section of a five-storey residential building collapsed in Batumi; nine people died on the spot and in hospital.

The persons accused of violating safety rules during the works, due to which, according to investigators, the house section collapsed in Batumi, refused to plead guilty.

According to Ramin Papidze, the advocate, who defends the interests of the owner of the apartment where the construction works were carried out, said that his client just wanted to unite two apartments; and no works in the basement, as well as those affecting the house foundation, were conducted, the "Rustavi-2" TV Company reports.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on October 11, 2021 at 05:41 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.

Author: Galina Gotua

Source: CK correspondent