Court of Appeals in Tbilisi reduced on March 19 a prison term from 10 to 7 years to Giorgi Zerekidze, 14, who has been found guilty of attempted murder and hooliganism by the lower level court last year.
Zerekidze admitted that he has slightly injured 23-year-old man in a spontaneous street quarrel, but denied that it was a murder attempt. The Tbilisi City Court?s ruling sentencing 14-year-old juvenile to 10-year in prison attracted public attention last year.
UN Children?s Fund (UNICEF) expressed concern over the ruling and called on Georgia to follow its commitments to ensure the full implementation of international juvenile justice standards under the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Despite Court of Appeals? ruling to cut prison term after dropping hooliganism charges from Zerekidze, the announcement of verdict resulted into a protest of the convict?s relatives and activists from some of the human rights groups presenting at the trial, who were demanding Zerekidze?s release; the protest grew into a fist-fight with the court marshals.
A lawmaker from the ruling National Movement Party Elene Tevdoradze, who chairs the parliamentary committee for human rights, said the court?s ruling was ?unfair.?
?I regret about this verdict of the court? I hope the ruling will be appealed in the Supreme Court and the latter will rule an appropriate verdict,? MP Elene Tevdoradze said.
But other lawmakers from the ruling party have criticized MP Tevdoradze for criticizing the court?s verdict.
?Making this kind of comments, especially when there is still a possibility for a higher court to look into the case, is a misuse of power by a lawmaker,? MP Nino Kalandadze, deputy chairman of the parliamentary committee for legal issues, said.
?I do not think this it is correct when a lawmaker makes assessments of this kind,? MP Nika Gvaramia of the ruling National Movement party said.
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