Day: February 15, 2024

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.

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:

• 11/03/2017 – Holy Synod Convenes on ‘Cyanide Case’
• 21/02/2017 – Patriarch Returns amid Questions on Alleged Murder Plot
• 14/02/2017 – Georgian Leaders Shocked by Alleged Murder Plot Involving ‘High-Ranking Cleric’

The EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus and the Crisis in Georgia, Toivo Klaar, in the frames of his visit to Georgia, met with the Head of the State Security Service, Grigol Liluashvili and Chairperson of Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, Nikoloz Samkharadze. During the meetings, the parties discussed the situation in the occupied territories, Georgia’s domestic political situation, and the possible effects of the country’s pre-election period on the occupied Abkhazia and Tskhinvali region. The parties also noted the need for EUMM’s unrestricted access to the occupied regions.

The 117^th Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism (IPRM) meeting, co-facilitated by the Acting Head of the EUMM, Tibor Kozma, and the Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office for the South Caucasus, Viore Moşanu, was held in Ergneti. According to the EUMM statement, the co-facilitators called on the participants to ensure security and stability along the occupation line, as well as freedom of movement, and fully reopen the crossing points, including for regular traffic. Representatives of Georgia’s State Security Service addressed the issues related to the killing of Tamaz Ginturi, illegal detentions, the humanitarian situation, and “borderization.”

Opposition-minded TV Pirveli revealed that during the prime ministership of Giorgi Gakharia in 2019-2021, 3,770 government decrees were issued, while only 770 were published. The government administration was unusually prompt in replying to the request of TV Pirveli on the issue of government decrees from the Gakharia period. Earlier, Natia Mezvrishvili, a representative of the former prime minister Giorgi Gakharia’s “For Georgia” party, claimed that the government administration during Giorgi Gakharia’s tenure was much more transparent, accusing the current authorities of hiding the decrees, corruption, and unaccountability.

Upon the decision of the conditional release commission, Deacon Giorgi Mamaladze was released from prison. On February 10, 2017, deacon Giorgi Mamaladze was arrested at the Tbilisi International Airport and charged with the attempt to poison Shorena Tetruashvili, an influential secretary of the Patriarch, Ilia II. He was sentenced to 9 years in prison for attempted murder and illegal possession of weapons in the “cyanide case.”