MONTHLY NEWSLETTER SEPTEMBER, 2014

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CASES OF PRISONER AN INCIDENT IN THE OFFICE OF FREE ZONE DEATHS IN PENAL On September 30, 2014, INSTITUTIONS members of association Free Generation intruded into the In September 2014, several cases of office of NGO Free Zone, as prisoner deaths took place in penal a result of which individual members of the organization institutions. According to the Minis- sustained physical injuries try of Corrections and Probation, on and the infrastructure of the September 16, 2014, two inspectors office was damaged. [page.2] >> who were on a regular inspection walk SHUTTERSTOCK in the Rustavi Penal Institution No. 2 found convict Z.S. dead.[1] N.Sh. who tution No. 17 was also found dead. Ac- was serving a sentence in Penal Insti- cording to the Ministry, N.Sh. inflicted POSTPONEMENT OF FULL INTRODUCTION OF THE a cut injury on himself in the neck area, INSTITUTION OF THE JURY [1] http://www.mcla.gov.ge/?ac- as a result of which he TO BE CONTINUED >> On September 18, 2014, tion=news&lang=geo&npid=2124 the Parliament of Georgia passed a bill on the first hearing according to which the full introduction of the institution of the jury will be postponed by two years – till SEIZURE OF THE PROPERTY OF THE October 1, 2016. [page.3] >> FORMER PRESIDENT OF GEORGIA AND MEMBERS OF HIS FAMILY On the basis of the motion of the Chief Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia, the Tbilisi LEGISLATIVE CHANGES MADE IN SEPTEMBER 2014 Court of Appeals, with its decision of September 3, 2014, seized the property of From September 1, 2014, ex-President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili and his relatives, including an apart- the Law of Georgia on the ment and a loft in Tbilisi owned by the ex-President’s spouse, Sandra Roelofs, as Legal Status of Aliens and Stateless Persons came into well as the living spaces and cars owned by Mikheil Saakashvili’s mother, grand- force. [page.7] >> mother, and son. TO BE CONTINUED >> 2 SEPTEMBER, 2014

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In spite of this, it remains a fact that the num- ber of suicide cases in prisons has recently in- creased sharply. The year 2013 saw the highest number of suicide cases (six cases), whereas the prison population had decreased consid- erably compared to previous years.[6] During SHUTTERSTOCK 2014, only four cases of suicide have taken place in the penitentiary system. The cases of AN INCIDENT IN THE OFFICE OF death and beating of prisoners that have re- FREE ZONE cently proliferated in penal institutions make it On September 30, 2014, members of association Free Generation in- clear that it is necessary to take more effective truded into the office of NGO Free Zone, as a result of which individual measures to prevent such cases. members of the organization sustained physical injuries and the in- frastructure of the office was damaged. In connection with the afore- mentioned, Georgian Democracy Initiative, the Media Development Foundation, and the Tolerance and Diversity Institute released a state- [2] http://mcla.gov.ge/?action=news&lang=geo&np id=2126 ment in which the incident that took place at the office is assessed [3] http://www.radiotavisupleba.ge/content/arti- as an act that contains a threat to the country’s democratic develop- cle/26592492.html ment, because “all kinds of violence that is directed against persons [1] [4] Ibid. who hold different views is unjustifiable.” TO BE CONTINUED >> [5] http://mcla.gov.ge/?action=news&lang=geo&n- pid=2116 [1] http://gdi.ge/en/news/a-joint-statement-of-georgian-democracy-initia- [6] 19,349 in 2012 and 9,093 in 2013. tive-media-development-fund-and-tolerance-and-diversity-institute.page 3 SEPTEMBER, 2014

<Parliament of Georgia appeared on the scene after members of Free Zone had repelled passed a bill on the first hearing according to which the attackers themselves. the full introduction of the institution of the jury will be postponed by two years – till October 1, 2016.[1] According to news reports, the attack followed the beating of a journalist of the Asaval-Dasavali newspaper, Zaza Davi- According to the current version of the Code of taia, by members of Free Zone – Parnaoz Chkadua and Davit Criminal Procedure, till October 1, 2014, the insti- tution of the jury had only been introduced in the Gogokhia. The aforementioned persons were detained un- city courts of Tbilisi, Kutaisi, and Batumi in relation der the charge of group hooliganism. to concrete offences, while from October 1 it was supposed to be introduced throughout the coun- try in relation to all the offences that are punish- LAW ENFORCERS DETAIN A able by deprivation of freedom. PERSON FILMING A POLICE RAID As the initiators of the changes explain, the coun- try is not ready for full introduction of jury trials. On September 7, 2014, on Rustaveli Avenue, law enforce- The initiators emphasize that two important prob- ment officers detained a person who was filming a po- lems were revealed in connection with the cases lice raid with a mobile phone. According to news reports, that have been adjudicated by juries till now – on the police officers forbade him and another person who the one hand, the difficulty of selecting jury mem- accompanied him from filming the raid and deleted the bers and, accordingly, the unreasonable protrac- filmed footage from his phone.[1] tion of trials, and, on the other hand, low quality After the person who accompanied the journalist told of the decisions reached by juries. Organizational the police officers that the files in his phone contained and financial difficulties and the fact that the -cur personal information and they had no right to see them, rent model of the institution of the jury is in need the police officers detained him. According to news re- of reform are added to the aforementioned. ports, the detainee was taken first to a police station and The postponement of the introduction of the insti- then to a temporary detention isolator. tution of the jury has caused the criticism of NGOs. According to the Press Service of the Ministry of In- They point out that the arguments put forward by ternal Affairs, the detained citizen was charged under the initiators are too insufficient and ill-founded to Article 173 of the Code of Administrative Offences which halt the introduction of this important component envisages malicious disobedience to the legal orders or of the justice reform.[2] It is necessary for all the three instructions of law enforcement officers while they are branches of government to realize the importance of fulfilling their official duties.[2] full introduction of the institution of the jury and to According to the Press Service of the Tbilisi City Court, implement all the necessary reforms in a timely man- on September 8 the Court discontinued the proceedings ner to speed up its introduction. against the person detained at the time of the raid due to the absence of an offence.[3]

[1] http://parliament.ge/ge/saparlamento-saqmianoba/plenaruli- [1] http://www.media.ge/ge/portal/news/303100/ sxdomebi/plenaruli-sxdomebi_news/parlamentis-plenaruli-sxdo- ma-17092014.page [2] http://www.tabula.ge/ge/story/87446-policiis-reidis-gadaghebis- dros-rustavelis-gamzirze-axalgazrda-daakaves [2] http://transparency.ge/en/post/general-announcement/non- governmental-organizations-response-plans-postpone-introduc- [3] http://www.netgazeti.ge/GE/105/News/35592/ tion-jury-trials 4 SEPTEMBER, 2014

A STATEMENT OF A CASE OF RELIGIOUS INTOLERANCE NON-GOVERNMEN- TAL ORGANIZATIONS TOWARDS MUSLIMS IN KOBULETI ABOUT THE GRAVE On September 10, 2014, a case of religious intolerance was observed in the Kobu- CRIMES COMMITTED leti Municipality. Specifically, “Citizens living in Kobuleti who identify themselves RECENTLY as members of the Orthodox parish protested the opening of a boarding house for Muslims. They slaughtered a pig at the entrance of the building and hung its On September 5, 2014, six head on its door. They also blocked the street with a demand to close the boarding non-governmental organiza- house.” There were cases of threats and verbal assaults.[1] tions released a joint statement on the information about grave In connection with the aforementioned, Georgian Democracy Initiative, together crimes that was recently dis- with other NGOs, released a statement.[2] In the assessment of the NGOs, the afore- seminated by the media.[1] mentioned incident may really contain signs of an administrative offence, as well as of a criminal offence, which makes it necessary for law enforcement bodies to The statement says that the re- study and respond to the fact.[3] The statement emphasizes the comments made plies of the Ministry of Internal by representatives of the local authorities which are of discriminatory character Affairs to the questions of the and encourage the escalation of intolerance. media and the public about At an Islamophobic protest that was held on September 11,[4] law enforcement the recent crime wave are often officers detained three persons on whom the court imposed a fine for an adminis- incoherent and contradictory. trative offence.[5] Under these circumstances, the investigative bodies, and espe- It should be noted that the Orthodox population of Kobuleti continues to keep cially the Ministry of Internal watch in front of the boarding house. They say they are not going to allow the Affairs, must ensure that the opening of the boarding house by any means.[6] It should be emphasized that a public is informed about what representative of the Georgian Dream faction in the Supreme Council of Adjara, is being done to investigate the Makvala Tsenteradze, was at the protest to support the protest participants. In crimes in a timely manner and parallel, the Muslims held a peaceful protest in front of the building of the Adjara government. They demand the construction of a new mosque in Batumi and the to hold the criminals responsi- opening of a madrasa in Kobuleti.[7] ble. At the same time, the NGOs state that it is necessary to re- The NGOs made a statement about the ongoing events once again, emphasizing vise the methods of struggle the passivity of the police and the local municipality. In their assessment, the inef- with and prevention of crime fective policy pursued by the authorities deserves severe criticism.[8] and to create a state policy and The NGOs also released a special statement in connection with the news item strategy in this direction. about the aforementioned incident which was aired by the Rustavi 2 TV station. The NGOs call on the Ministry of In their assessment, the TV station violated the norms of the Code of Ethics for Internal Affairs and the relevant Broadcasters and covered the issues related to Georgia’s Muslim citizens’ freedom [9] bodies to publish complete of religion in a discriminatory context. statistical data on crime, which will make it possible to analyze [1] http://bit.ly/1nNVPGu the crime situation objectively. [2] http://gdi.ge/ge/news/gancxadeba-islamofobiis-morigi-faqtis-shesaxeb.page The statement also says that it [3] Ibid. is necessary to ensure the avail- [4] http://bit.ly/ZXmwh5 ability of the methodology of [5] http://www.netgazeti.ge/GE/105/News/35808/.htm ; http://1tv.ge/news-view/76089 crime statistics for the media [6] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4niEHbXi1Bg and the public. [7] http://1tv.ge/news-view/76570/ [8] http://www.gdi.ge/ge/news/ngos-kobuleti.page [1] http://bit.ly/1DY1pKt [9] http://bit.ly/139NG6e id=33131 [1] aired. be not must ipants which he was one of the partic thatdemanded the program in Minister’s spouse. Specifically, he karashvili, acousin of the Prime ist was threatened by Zviad Jan Anatomythe Studio, journal the and Mikiashvili, Natia program, of the author of the Anatomy TV According to a special statement JOURNALIST A ON PRESSURE [1] We would like to remind the public that on June 26, 2014, the event of their divorce. byland an alien co-owned and acitizen of Georgia in agricultural of disposal with connection in troduced special conditions. able to become owners of agricultural land if they meet the procedure established by Georgian law, will only be panies that were founded in Georgia, in accordance with Georgia. In addition, physical persons, aliens, and com in land agricultural to purchase able be longer no will nies that other or persons legal were abroad founded to the government. According to the changes, compa to aliens land agricultural of alienation of procedure new MinisterThe of Justice has already submitted abill on a PURCHASE OF AGRICULTURAL LAND BY FOREIGN NATIONALS MAY BY FOREIGN AGAIN AGRICULTURAL OF LAND CHANGE PURCHASE THE ON REGULATIONS THE GEORGIA, OF JUSTICE OF MINISTRY INITIATIVE THE THE OF ON 5 http://pirveliradio.ge/?news http://www.justice.gov.ge/News/Detail?newsId=4656 [1] LEGISLATIVE INITIATIVES New regulations are also being in being also are regulations New [1] -

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SHUTTERSTOCK tive ispunishableunder Article 353oftheCriminalCode. [4] [3] [2] [1] anhas inquiryinto started possible exceeding of authority by the law enforcers. gia-Ireland football match, police officers physically abattered young man in the SeptemberOn 7, 2014, at the Dinamo Arena stadium, of the before Geor the start the Criminal Code. Criminal the physicallyers and an investigation into this is under fact way under Article 353 of um. of Ministry InternalThe Affairs confirms that the incidenttook place atstadi the then ten, and then perhaps 30 officers of the MIA rushed to beat him.” second blow and fell down together with the child. he had After fallen, first five, not to fall together with the child, though he was no longer able to withhold the or four years old in his arms with full force. man The faltered on the stairs, but tried an eye-witness, “A police officer hit a man who was holding a child ofabout three the stadium’s when he had sectors an argument with law enforcers. According to presence of his minor child. A MAN ATA MAN ASTADIUM PHYSICALLY OFFICERS POLICE BATTER Resistance, threat,orviolenceagainstaprotectorofpublicorderothergovernmentrepresenta http://www.netgazeti.ge/GE/105/News/35612/ http://www.netgazeti.ge/GE/105/News/35612/ http://www.netgazeti.ge/GE/105/News/35612/ [3] According to the Press of Service the the MIA, man assaulted the law enforc [4] - - - It is still unknown whether the General Inspection of the MIA ment of Georgia,June 24,2014; gia onthecase of Austrian citizenMathiasHutervs. theParlia [3] ment ofGeorgia,June26,2012; gia onthecaseofDanishcitizen HeikeKronquistvs.theParlia [2] unconstitutional. them found again law were also appealed in the Constitutional Court which December 31, 2014. norms The of the new wording of the they were again deprived of the right to purchase land till torium was declared on alienation of land to aliens, and of the Parliament of Georgia, from July 19, 2013, amora Georgia. in land agricultural to purchase right the of nationals eign of Agricultural theon Ownership that Land deprived for found unconstitutional the norms of the Law of Georgia the Plenary Session of the Constitutional Court of Georgia The judgmentNo. 1/2/563oftheConstitutional CourtofGeor The judgmentNo.3/1/512of the ConstitutionalCourtofGeor [1] The man The was standing on the stairs leading to one of [2] Despite the aforementioned, with the decision [3]

SEPTEMBER, 2014 [2]

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THE DRAFT LAW ON THE OFFICIAL LANGUAGE The Parliament has initiated the draft Law on the Offi- cial Language. According to Eka Beselia, the law aims at strengthening the official status of the Georgian language (in Abkhazia – together with the Abkhaz language) and at taking care to ensure its use in all areas of public and social life, as well as its protection, development, learn- ing, and popularization. The draft law envisages the cre- ation of the Department of the Official Language and the Standing Commission on the Official Language, as well as measures of responsibility and monetary sanctions for vi- olation of the requirements of the law. The changes con- tained in the draft law may be incorporated in the Law of Georgia on Broadcasting, and an article may be added to it according to which the mass media that broadcast in the official language will only be able to use a non-offi- cial language in no more than 10% of television and radio broadcasting time.[1]

[1] http://bit.ly/1FViCWP

CHANGES TO THE LAW OF GEORGIA ON FREE- DOM OF SPEECH AND EXPRESSION The Parliament has discussed the draft Law on Chang- es to the Law of Georgia on Freedom of Speech and Expression on the first hearing. According to the changes, a person who has a corresponding interest that is worth protecting will have the right to appeal to the court to protect the personal non-property rights of a deceased person from defamation. In addi- tion, according to the draft law, such a person may not demand a material compensation for moral damages for blemishing the good name, honor, dignity, or busi- SHUTTERSTOCK ness reputation.[1] in the Constitutional Court. According to the current It should be noted that the issue of constitutionality of wording of the law, a person does not have the right the words “deceased person” in Paragraph 4 of Article to dispute a defamatory statement expressed towards 6 of the Law of Georgia on Freedom of Speech and a deceased person. In connection with the aforemen- Expression in relation to Article 17 and Paragraph 1 of tioned case, the Constitutional Court has already held Article 42 of the Constitution has already been raised a substantive hearing.[2]

[1] http://www.shenmartav.ge/?page=blog&lang=en&id=273

[2] http://constcourt.ge/index.php?lang_id=GEO&sec_id=6&info_id=1424 7 SEPTEMBER, 2014

LEGISLATIVE CHANGES MADE IN SEPTEMBER 2014 From September 1, 2014, the Law of Geor- From September 1, 2014, changes to the Law of gia on the Legal Status of Aliens and State- Georgia on Medicine and Pharmaceutical Activity less Persons came into force. According to also came into force. According to the changes, a the explanatory note, the passage of the law number of medicines may only be purchased with a prescription. was caused by unregulated immigration pro- cesses that had emerged as a result of ex- tremely open visa policies. The law regulates On the basis of Article 431 of the EU-Georgia Associ- several important issues, including the entry ation Agreement, provisional application of certain of aliens into Georgia, exit by transit and exit articles of the agreement also began from Septem- from Georgia, obtaining of visas of Georgia, ber 1, 2014. Specifically, about 80% of the Associa- procedures of obtaining a residence permit in tion Agreement, including the component of the Georgia, procedures of determining the sta- Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA), [1] tus of stateless persons, etc. One of the ma- began to apply provisionally. jor changes is that it will be possible to enter Georgia for 90 days during a 180-day period. [1] http://www.mfa.gov.ge/index.php?lang_id=ENG&sec_ id=30&info_id=18015

JUDGMENTS OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT With the judgment of Septem- ple of equality guaranteed by the ber 12, 2014, the Constitutional Constitution. In the opinion of the Court of Georgia found uncon- Court, the aforementioned regu- 2 D. Gamrekeli Str., 3rd floor, stitutional the normative con- lation violated Articles 14 and 35 Tbilisi 0194, Georgia [1] Tel/Fax: (+995 32) 272 80 08 tents of the articles of the Law of the Constitution. [email protected] | www.gdi.ge of Georgia on General Education It should be noted that in Septem- which excluded foreign nationals ber 2014 the Supreme Court of living in Georgia from the circle Georgia lodged a submission with of subjects who have the right to the Constitutional Court twice in receive general education free of accordance with Sub-paragraph charge. According to the plaintiffs, D, Paragraph 2, Article 18 of the they had to pay the tuition in an Organic Law of Georgia on Com- educational institution in order to mon Courts. THIS PROJECT IS FINANCIALLY receive general education, which SUPPORTED BY THE HUMAN RIGHTS FUND OF THE NETHERLANDS’ MINISTRY contradicted the fundamental OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS [1] http://constcourt.ge/index.php?lang_ right to education and the princi- id=GEO&sec_id=6&info_id=1432