Day: November 21, 2024

On November 21, the Social Justice Center issued a statement on the protracted trial in the Tbilisi City Court of the cases of Saba Meparishvili and Omar Okribelashvili, who have been detained since May 14 and face 3-6 years in prison for damaging a GEL 400 (USD 146) iron barrier erected near the Parliament building during protests against the Foreign Agents Law in the spring 2024. The SJC believes that these cases demonstrate “the political instrumentalization of the judiciary” and “unjust exemplary punishment of political activists.”

Meparishvili and Okribelashvili are charged with violating Article 187, Part Two, Subsection “c” of the Criminal Code, relating to damage/destruction of an object committed as a group which was added to the Code last year, after the first initiation of the Foreign Agents’ law in the Parliament, and has been used against political activists “in an extremely problematic manner,” according to the SJC. “The expediency and justification of the [legal] amendments are neither stated in the explanatory note of the draft law nor made public,” the organization notes. A similar case was brought against Giorgi Shanidze, who was sentenced to 4 years in prison and was only spared by a Presidential pardon.

• 02/08/2024 – Amendments to Criminal Code’s Article 187: Government’s Tool to Punish its Opponents

“With regard to the use of imprisonment as the most severe deterrent measure, numerous decisions of the European Court of Human Rights confirm that it should not be based on abstract objectives that jeopardize the administration of justice, but on concrete factual grounds. In this case, the defendants will not be able to influence the potential evidence that may exist in the case, and no other circumstance for the use of imprisonment is established. In the absence of such information, the use of imprisonment is unjustified and disproportionate to the gravity of the act allegedly committed,” explains the watchdog.

The organization stresses that the two defendants’ cases have been heard in court with two-month intervals between sessions, the last of which was held on September 23. The last two sessions were postponed due to the health problems of the judge, Natia Gudadze. The maximum two-month period prescribed by law for the review of pre-trial detention ends on November 23, and as the SJC believes, “the postponement of the court hearings serves to artificially delay the process, with the aim of making sure that the hearings will not end until there is a possibility of a presidential pardon” (the current president’s term ends in December 2024).

The watchdog stresses that these cases show “unfair criminal justice policies” and “disproportionately harsh sentences” on the one hand, and shed light on the politicization of the prosecutor general and the court on the other. “The regime is trying to maintain its legitimacy and solve the political crisis in society by using disproportionate and unfair criminal legislation,” the SJC said.

The organization also notes that “it is crucial that the Tbilisi City Court issues a final decision against Omar Okribelashvili and Saba Meparishvili in the optimal time, based only on credible and objective evidence.”

Also Read:

• 21/11/2024 – Tbilisi City Court Sentences Two Detained Activists to Eight-Day Imprisonment, Fines Another

Following the common alphabet, a ‘common anthem’ and a ‘common art dictionary’ are also on the agenda among the Turkic states. Leading the work, Prof. Dr Erhan Özden said that the anthem, which will be composed of words that reinforce national and spiritual values ​​and that everyone can relate to, will be put into practice soon, and the dictionary will be put into practice in a few years.

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Report presents an interview with AZCHEMCO Vice-Chairman Rifat Sultanzada.

Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov had a phone conversation with Uzbekistan’s Foreign Minister Bakhtiyor Saidov, Report informs, citing the Azerbaijani MFA.

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On November 21, former Prime Minister of Georgia and the leader of Gakharia-For Georgia party Giorgi Gakharia held a briefing and called on the representatives of the diplomatic corps accredited in Georgia not to attend the opening session of the 11th convocation of the Parliament to show that they don’t recognize the legitimacy of the fraudulent election results.

In particular, Gakharia appealed to the Ambassador of the United States and the Ambassadors of the EU member states to refrain from attending the parliamentary session in order to protect the right of Georgian citizens to participate in meaningful elections, which are the “most important democratic institution”. He noted that many Georgian citizens are protesting the results of the October 26 elections, and the heads of Western states and the EU questioning these results, stating that the legitimacy of the elections can only be achieved through a full and independent investigation.

The ex-PM emphasized that the parliamentary elections were “systematically rigged” with three main types of violations: violation of the privacy of the vote, formation of district and precinct commissions with people connected to or under the influence of Georgian Dream, and systematic use of personal information of citizens. He noted that the crisis created by these fraudulent elections could have been avoided only if GD had released the list of people who participated in the elections, but the ruling party not only refused to do so, but also started a “fake investigation”, which gave them the opportunity to keep the devices containing the lists” in “prisoners”.

Gakharia also called on Georgian citizens to participate in the process of denying legitimacy to the new Parliament by joining a mass protest on the day of its first session and clearly showing that they will not give legitimacy to the election results until all questions are answered by a full, independent and neutral investigation.

Speaking about the cooperation with other opposition parties that crossed the 5% threshold, Gakharia said that his party cooperates with them on the two main issues – “stolen elections” and the return of the country to the European path. On other issues, including the form of protests, he said his party has different views and ideas.

Commenting on the plans to relinquish MPs’ mandates and the party’s funding from the state budget, Gakharia said that it is “nobody’s business” how and in what form the party decides to deny legitimacy to the parliament. He said that they will not fall victim to the “pressure and intimidation” coming from both sides – the GD and the UNM, and on the one hand they will not follow the UNM’s “group retreats”, while on the other hand they will not give the GD “leverage” to decide when to withdraw the party’s mandates. Regarding party funding, he said that the party will refuse to accept it, but in what form “is nobody’s business”.

For Georgia’s leader also spoke about the party’s communication with EU representatives, saying that the main message they share with the EU is that punitive actions against the government shouldn’t include stopping or even pausing visa liberalization, because it would be an “unfair” punitive measure directed against the citizens and would feed GD’s plans to “close Europe” for Georgians and leave only Russia open for free travel. He said that the EU should consider punitive measures only in the form of personal sanctions against those “corrupt” GD representatives who “killed the European future of the country” and “rigged the elections”.

Commenting on the opposition’s demand to hold new elections in the country under international supervision, Gakharia emphasized that he “doesn’t believe” in such elections, saying that new elections will only be meaningful if the administration of six Georgian institutions is completely changed. The institutions he named are: the Central Election Commission, the Public Defender, the Personal Data Protection Service, the State Auditor, the Special Investigation Service and the State Security Service of Georgia.

Regarding the recent political developments, Gakharia was asked about his opinion on the UNM representative in the CEC splashing black paint on the Chair of the CEC, to which he replied that he personally may not like such forms of protest, but this “radicalization” comes from the GD’s violent actions, including beating demonstrators during protests or in front of their homes, attacking opposition members, intimidating people through aggressive phone calls, etc.

A journalist from the pro-government TV channel Imedi asked Gakharia about his opinion on protesters obstructing the work of the channel’s crew, to which he replied that he “condemns” any kind of obstruction of journalistic activities, that people make their own choices about which media they want to work in, and that in any case “journalists should be free”.

Finally, he was also asked about his opinion on whether the anti-LGBTQ+ legislative package should be abolished, to which he said that For Georgia was the only opposition party that participated in the deliberations of these laws and even voted in favor of several laws concerning children’s rights, and that abolishing this or the “Russian law” now would be meaningless because after these “bad actions” GD had done a “worse action” by rigging the elections, and that abolishing the law now would not change the situation.

Also Read:

• 21/11/2024 – Joint Assessment on Elections by ISFED, My Vote, and GYLA: Elections Neither Free nor Fair

Ten banks in Türkiye have committed not to finance coal projects.

Azerbaijan and Chile discussed cooperation within the framework of the International Transport Forum, Azerbaijan’s Minister of Digital Development and Transport Rashad Nabiyev said on X, Report informs.

The Japanese government plans to adopt a package of measures to stimulate the economy, totaling 21.9 trillion yen ($141.2 billion at the current exchange rate). A significant portion of this amount will be allocated for subsidies and wage increases, Azernews reports.