List of ‘Political Prisoners’ Disputed

Of the 44 people the opposition wants released, only four were arrested in connection with the November 7 unrest, Levan Bezhashvili, a lawmaker from the ruling party, said on February 11.

The release of, what the opposition describes as, “political prisoners” is one of 17 demands outlined in a joint memorandum and one of three demands the nine-party opposition coalition wants immediately met by the authorities as a precondition for the continuation of negotiations.

“After studying this list of 44 people, we have found that only four were arrested in connection with the November 7 unrest; 11 have already been released, 13 were jailed on drugs-related charges and six are in jail on charges relating to the assassination attempt on ex-President Eduard Shevardnadze, back in 1998,” MP Levan Bezhashvili said.

He also said that the list included Shalva Ramishvili, a journalist sentenced to four years for blackmail in 2006. “The list only includes a few people connected with the November 7 events,” MP Bezhashvili said.

Opposition bloc politicians, however, have claimed that many activists have been jailed on trumped up drugs charges. They acknowledge, however, that some on the list were jailed long before the November 7 events.

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