Tbilisi City Court Rules in Racha Forest Rally Detainees’ Case
According to the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association, on November 29 and December 15, the Tbilisi City Court heard the case of eleven persons arrested on November 18 near the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture during the rally against the alienation of the Racha forests. The case against three of the detainees, two of whom were represented by GYLA, was dismissed by the court for lack of evidence of a crime.
The law enforcement authorities charged the detainees with committing an offense under Articles 166 and 173 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of Georgia, which implies petty hooliganism and disobedience to a lawful request of a representative of the law enforcement authorities.
According to GYLA, the court was guided by the standard established by the European Court of Human Rights and stated that the presumption of innocence characteristic of criminal proceedings should be applied in cases of administrative offenses. Accordingly, it is the prosecuting authority which is obliged to prove, with appropriate evidence, the fact that a person has committed an administrative offense, and the testimony of law enforcement officers alone cannot be considered as reliable evidence.
In the mentioned three individuals’ case the court cited the lack of evidence of a violation in the actions of the individuals as the basis for dropping the criminal cases, as the prosecution was unable to provide any evidence to the contrary.
According to the information obtained by Civil.ge, six people were given a verbal warning, and the case against two others was dismissed under Article 166 of the Code of Administrative Offenses, but a fine of GEL 2000-2000 was imposed on them under Article 173.
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