The Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association opened the traditional human rights week with a peaceful rally outside the Supreme Court of Georgia in the evening of December 9.
The rally participants gathered wearing a T-shirts with special symbols, voicing the main messages associated with issues identified during the recent period.
Slogan of the rally was “Recognize My Right!”
29/XII/2010, Tbilisi, Georgia
The Georgian civil society representatives express their deep concern about the ongoing human rights violations in Belarus.
On 19 December 2010 thousands of Belarus citizens gathered on October Square in Minsk to express their opinion regarding the Presidential elections. Later they moved to the Independence Square. According to the Amnesty International:
"A small group of young men standing by the doors to the parliament building armed with batons, their faces covered with scarves started to call on the demonstrators to storm the building. They broke down the doors and broke windows after which riot police sought to disperse the entire demonstration.
Open Society Institute, Law and Health Initiative (LAHI), Open Society Georgia Foundation (OSGF), And Association Rights to Health, Fellowship in Law, Human Rights, and Patient Care.
The Open Society Institute Law and Health Initiative (LAHI), Open Society Georgian Foundation and Georgian Young Lawyers Assosiation are pleased to announce a one-year fellowship program for practicing lawyers and recent law graduates in law, human rights, and patient care.
On December 10, 2010, the Dispute Resolution Board was established at the State Procurement Agency. The board adjudicates appeals regarding procurement. Both bidders and entities that would like to participate in procurement have the right to lodge appeals. They have the right to appeal against actions of procuring organization or tender commission before conclusion of an agreement on procurement. The board shall render its decision within then days.
The Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association responds to the eviction of internally displaced persons from building formerly housing the customs department located at 4 Abzianidze Str. in Tbilisi on January 20, 2011. GYLA’s representative has observed the process from the very beginning.
Eviction on January 20, 2011 started at 7:00 am. Dozens of police officers were mobilized at the location. They hindered journalists and observers to enter the building and monitor the developments inside.
District Court of Mtskheta sentenced a displaced person from Liakhvi Gorge, sculptor Valerian Chilashvili to one year of imprisonment on January 22, 2011. The Prosecutor’s Office of Mtskheta detained 64-year old Chilashvili in October 2010 on charges of stealing GEL 35 worth of wooden boards. Based on the motion of the Prosecutor’s Office, Chilashvili was granted bail for GEL 2000 but as the defendant could not afford the bail, he was imprisoned.
NGOs from 50 different countries participated in the videoconference held on February 15 upon the initiative of the U.S. Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton.
Out of hundreds of questions earlier submitted by NGOs from all over the world, only four were answered by the conference organizers. One of them was the question submitted by GYLA’s Chairperson Tamar Chugoshvili regarding compatibility of economic development and democratic development in Georgia. Specifically, GYLA inquired about the ways to ensure that the economic development does not hamper or question the rule of law in the country.
The working group members answered that sustainable economy may not be achieved without combination of the rule of law, democratic governance and economic development.
On February 15, 2011 the European Court of Human Rights rendered
its judgment in Tsintsabadze v Georgia (case #35403/06). The court held that there had been a violation of Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights by the State (Georgia), as the investigation into the death of Zurab Tsintsabadze in prison in 2005 had not been independent, objective and effective.
Zurab Tsintsabadze was sentenced to three years of imprisonment and since July 6, 2005, he had been serving the sentence in Khoni Prison N9. He was discovered hanged in prison storeroom on September 30, 2005.
The investigation considered that Z. Tsintsabadze committed a suicide, although mother of the deceased Tsintsabadze claimed that he was killed over a debt.
The Court noted that although investigation into the death of Z. Tsintsabadze was launched immediately and a number of investigative measures were taken, there were a number of procedural shortcomings which left many obvious questions about the death unanswered.
The investigation was conducted by the department that is under the direct supervision of the Ministry of Justice, which raised legitimate doubts as to the independence of the investigation.
On February 21, 2011, de-facto authorities of South Ossetia released 7 ethnic Georgians detained on various dates after the August 2008 War.
The Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association and the Russian Justice Initiative (RJI) represents interests of five of them – Zviad Kobaladze, Demur Chigladze, Davit Kapanadze, Beka and Vaza Takadzes – before the European Court of Human Rights against the Russian Federation.
Beka and Vazha Takadzes were detained by Ossetians dressed in military uniforms in February 201 in the village of Kirbala, Gori district, where they had gone for hunting. Representatives of the de-facto authorities of South Ossetia charged them for illegal border crossing. They served one year in Tskinvali Prison.
Zviad Kobaladze, who was serving in Georgian army and participated in the Russian-Georgian war in 2008, was detained by Ossetian militaries on November 8, 2008 in the village of Avnevi, Kareli district. De-facto law enforcement authorities of South Ossetia charged him with murder, genocide and illegal carriage of arms. Z. Kobaladze was unlawfully detained in Tskhinvali prison for two years and three months.
