Political Prisoners Are Supposed to Be Released in Georgia

Many Georgians were suppressed after the state turnover in Georgia in the years of 1991-1992. According to the April 20, 2001 resolution of the Parliament, violent overturn of government has been denounced. Despite this there still are those political prisoners in prisons and colonies of Georgia who are supposed to be released.

As a result of strict demand from the side of the Council of Europe the Agreement Commission in the Parliament has studied the cases of political prisoners and has sent them to the Supreme Court. Cases of two well-known political prisoners – Petre Gelbakhiani and Irakli Dokvadze are among them (their case is a part of the big case of Zviad Gamsakhurdia, the first president of Georgia).

The Supreme Court gave the sentence of death to the above-mentioned personalities in 1995. Petre Gelbakhiani and Irakli Dokvadze spent two years in underground cell for sentenced to death. Later when the execution was abolished in Georgia the death penalty was changed to a 20-year term imprisonment. They are inside in the Avchala colony now.

“Representatives of the UN, OSCE, and other organizations of the human rights defense have declared several times that much abrogation has occurred concerning the above-mentioned political prisoners during pre and court investigation. They and their family members have been under physical and psychological suppression; they have not been given the right to defend themselves; etc”, the Akhali Taoba states and tries to activate the issue of political prisoners.

According to the newspaper, the International Federation of Helsinki sent an appeal to the Supreme Court of Georgia. In the appeal Georgia is accused of abrogating an international pact. It says that the Supreme Court of Georgia has exceeded all the dues while it has not overviewed the cases of political prisoners yet. 

The Akhali Taoba