Day: February 15, 2024
Pro-Kremlin Leader In Breakaway Abkhazia Pushes ‘Foreign Agents’ Bill To Silence Critics Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty
On February 14, Georgian Defense Minister Irakli Chikovani participated online in the 19th meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group. The meeting was held in a hybrid format, in person (in Brussels) and online.
The meeting was attended by the heads and high-ranking officials of the defense agencies of the countries supporting Ukraine.
“The Ukraine Defense Contact Group wrapped up its 19th meeting today. Nearly 50 nations came together focused on Ukraine’s most urgent battlefield needs—and to help prepare Ukraine’s future force to deter and defeat Russian aggression over the long haul,” Lloyd Austin, the United States Secretary of Defense tweeted.
The Ukraine Defense Contact Group wrapped up its 19th meeting today. Nearly 50 nations came together focused on Ukraine’s most urgent battlefield needs—and to help prepare Ukraine’s future force to deter and defeat Russian aggression over the long haul.
— Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III (@SecDef) February 14, 2024
The Ukrainian Defense Contact Group was established by the United States in April 2022 with more than 50 nations participating in solidarity with Ukraine.
Also Read:
- 19/09/2023 – Minister of Defense Joins the 15th Meeting of Ukrainian Defense Contact Group
- 19/07/2023 – Minister of Defense Joins 14th Meeting of Ukrainian Defense Contact Group
- 15/06/2023 – Minister of Defense Joins the Meeting of Ukrainian Defense Contact Group
- 25/05/2023 – Minister of Defense Joins 12th Meeting of Ukrainian Defense Contact Group
On February 14, Deacon Giorgi Mamaladze, arrested in the so-called cyanide case, was released from prison early , according to his brother Tornike Mamaladze. The decision to release him one year and nine months before the end of his sentence was taken by the Conditional Release Commission of the Ministry of Justice.
Deacon Giorgi Mamaladze was arrested at Tbilisi International Airport on 10 February, but the public only learned about it three days later, when the Chief Prosecutor of Georgia Irakli Shotadze announced at an emergency briefing that the deacon was arrested for planning “a murder of a high-ranking cleric.” On February 16, the Prosecutor’s Office clarified that the “high-ranking cleric” in question was not Ilia II, Patriarch of Georgia’s Orthodox Church.
Following a trial, the Tbilisi City Court found Deacon Mamaladze guilty of plotting to murder Shorena Tetruashvili, the Patriarch’s assistant, as well as of purchase and storage of firearms, (Articles 18, 108, and 236 of the Criminal Code), and sentenced him to 9 years in prison.
The verdict was also upheld by higher instance courts before the Deacon’s lawyers decided to appeal to the ECtHR in January 2019 with the complaint that Article 6 (right to a fair trial) of the European Convention on Human Rights had been violated.
The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) found two violations of Giorgi Mamaladze’s right to a fair trial under Article 6 of the ECHR in November of 2022. In line with its ruling, the Court ordered Georgia to pay Mamaladze GEL 9,418 (USD 3,431) within 3 months of the ruling.
Tornike Mamaladze told RFE/RL’s Georgian Service that the family’s main priority now is to improve Deacon Giorgi Mamaladze’s health and “put him on his feet, because he has been paralyzed for five years.” After that, he noted, they plan to prove the Deacon’s innocence.
According to the Social Justice Center, the organization defending Deacon Mamaladze’s interest in court, stated that the decision to release Deacon after serving 7 years was based on his compliance with institutional rules, good behavior, lack of conflicts, absence of future crime risk factors, deteriorating health, and the victim’s (Shorena Tetruashvili) agreement to legal benefits for the convict.
Also Read: