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GD President’s Pardon of 613 Prisoners at Once Raises Questions

The Georgian Dream (GD) president Mikheil Kavelashvili pardoned an unprecedented 613 inmates on the occasion of Epiphany on January 19. He said his decision was based on “the principle of humanism” and “state interests,” but many have raised the alarm that the GD president pardoned too many without due deliberation, and have alleged that there are political interests behind the decision.

The large number of people pardoned has attracted attention. Social Justice Center, the local watchdog, said that yesterday’s pardon was unprecedented, as no Georgian president has ever pardoned so many people at once, even in one year, except in 2013, when the large number of pardons (857) followed the change of government and the previous government’s zero-tolerance policy toward even petty crimes.

Pardons are granted at the sole discretion of the President of Georgia. The decision to pardon does not need to be justified. But it should be made public what crimes the pardoned citizens were convicted of, notes the watchdog said. Such information has not yet been disclosed. The SJC said Kavelashvili “arbitrarily” used his discretion “for the narrow party interests.”

The watchdog alleges the pardon may be in connection to the October elections. It notes that Mikheil Kavelashvili’s decision “raises doubts that this is some kind of reward for the pro-government activities of the criminal and violent thugs.”

“Such practice of pardon does not serve the public interest and its security, but represents political arbitrariness and a clear example of party instrumentalization of the current repressive and punitive criminal justice system,” the SJC adds.

Londa Toloraia, the CSO coalition My Vote speaker, also raised the alarm, warning of the consequences of a possible increase in the country’s crime rate. She said there are legitimate fears that “with this act, the GD has thanked the prisoners and their families for their contribution to the elections.”

For Tamar Khidasheli, a member of the Democracy Research Institute, another rights watchdog, 613 is “too many” to pardon. She also expressed concern that the controversial act serves the GD’s political interests.

“No matter what kind of a genius we are talking about, it is practically impossible to study the individual cases of 613 prisoners and the risks of pardons in 20 days,” Natia Mezvrishvili of the opposition party For Georgia wrote in a social media. She also suggested that the pardons may be aimed at providing the ruling party with additional “manpower” for its ongoing repression of its critics.

The GD inaugurated ex-footballer Kavelashvili, who has no higher education, as president of Georgia on December 29. President Salome Zurabishvili, opposition parties, and wider society, as well as many of Georgia’s international partners, who do not recognize the results of the October elections, reject the legitimacy of the parliament and its elected president. Kavelashvili has so far made two decisions in his new capacity: the day after his inauguration, he signed dozens of repressive amendments to various laws, and yesterday he issued a controversial and unprecedented pardon.

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