CASES OF PRISONER DEATHS IN PENAL INSTITUTIONS

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1 MONTHLY NEWSLETTER SEPTEMBER, AN INCIDENT IN THE OFFICE OF FREE ZONE On September 30, 2014, members of association Free Generation intruded into the office of NGO Free Zone, as a result of which individual members of the organization sustained physical injuries and the infrastructure of the office was damaged. [page.2] >> POSTPONEMENT OF FULL INTRODUCTION OF THE INSTITUTION OF THE JURY On September 18, 2014, the Parliament of Georgia passed a bill on the first hearing according to which the full introduction of the institution of the jury will be postponed by two years till October 1, [page.3] >> LEGISLATIVE CHANGES MADE IN SEPTEMBER 2014 From September 1, 2014, the Law of Georgia on the Legal Status of Aliens and Stateless Persons came into force. [page.7] >> CASES OF PRISONER DEATHS IN PENAL INSTITUTIONS In September 2014, several cases of prisoner deaths took place in penal institutions. According to the Ministry of Corrections and Probation, on September 16, 2014, two inspectors who were on a regular inspection walk in the Rustavi Penal Institution No. 2 found convict Z.S. dead. [1] N.Sh. who was serving a sentence in Penal Insti- [1] tution No. 17 was also found dead. According to the Ministry, N.Sh. inflicted a cut injury on himself in the neck area, as a result of which he SEIZURE OF THE PROPERTY OF THE FORMER PRESIDENT OF GEORGIA AND MEMBERS OF HIS FAMILY On the basis of the motion of the Chief Prosecutor s Office of Georgia, the Tbilisi Court of Appeals, with its decision of September 3, 2014, seized the property of ex-president of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili and his relatives, including an apartment and a loft in Tbilisi owned by the ex-president s spouse, Sandra Roelofs, as well as the living spaces and cars owned by Mikheil Saakashvili s mother, grandmother, and son. TO BE CONTINUED >> TO BE CONTINUED >>

2 2 SEPTEMBER, 2014 <<BEGINNING died. [2] In both cases, an investigation was launched under Article 115 which envisages bringing a person to the point of suicide. The death of yet another prisoner took place in Penal Institution No. 17. An alleged fact of beating of a prisoner in Penal Institution No. 6 is also noteworthy. According to the lawyer of convict J.K., J.K. was beaten cruelly. Specifically, he bears serious injuries in the areas of the head and limbs. [3] It should be noted that the Ministry of Corrections and Probation does not confirm that the prisoner was beaten. [4] On September 10, 2014, in connection with the World Suicide Prevention Day, the Ministry of Corrections and Probation presented its own findings. According to the Deputy Minister, the first results of the Suicide Prevention Program in the Penitentiary System are quite promising, at this stage the Ministry has been able to help 38 people, and the aforementioned program will soon be expanded further. [5] <<BEGINNING Prior to this, on August 29, the City Court had refused to satisfy the part of the motion of the Prosecutor s Office in which it demanded the seizure of the property under the ownership of Mikheil Saakashvili s spouse, grandmother, mother, and son, stating that the mere fact of real existence of property of persons related to the defendant was not sufficient to seize it and that the Prosecutor s Office had demanded the aforementioned without any grounds and only cited and interpreted the text of law. The Court also noted that the property of Sandra Roelofs had been purchased long before the time of the act that Mikheil Saakashvili was charged for. The Court of Appeals satisfied the complaint of the Prosecutor s Office, which, like the motion, was unsubstantiated, without a verbal hearing; overturned the decision of the court of the first instance; and seized the property owned by Sandra Roelofs that had been purchased in the years 2002 to In spite of this, it remains a fact that the number of suicide cases in prisons has recently increased sharply. The year 2013 saw the highest number of suicide cases (six cases), whereas the prison population had decreased considerably compared to previous years. [6] During 2014, only four cases of suicide have taken place in the penitentiary system. The cases of death and beating of prisoners that have recently proliferated in penal institutions make it clear that it is necessary to take more effective measures to prevent such cases. [2] id=2126 [3] [4] Ibid. [5] [6] 19,349 in 2012 and 9,093 in AN INCIDENT IN THE OFFICE OF FREE ZONE On September 30, 2014, members of association Free Generation intruded into the office of NGO Free Zone, as a result of which individual members of the organization sustained physical injuries and the infrastructure of the office was damaged. In connection with the aforementioned, Georgian Democracy Initiative, the Media Development Foundation, and the Tolerance and Diversity Institute released a statement in which the incident that took place at the office is assessed as an act that contains a threat to the country s democratic development, because all kinds of violence that is directed against persons who hold different views is unjustifiable. [1] TO BE CONTINUED >> [1]

3 3 SEPTEMBER, 2014 <<BEGINNING According to members of Free Zone, the attackers had announced about the impending attack some time before the incident, though, despite the fact that Free Zone had warned the relevant bodies of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the latter did not take corresponding measures to prevent the attack. The members of Free Zone state that they made the last call to the police 40 minutes before the attack, though police officers only appeared on the scene after members of Free Zone had repelled the attackers themselves. According to news reports, the attack followed the beating of a journalist of the Asaval-Dasavali newspaper, Zaza Davitaia, by members of Free Zone Parnaoz Chkadua and Davit Gogokhia. The aforementioned persons were detained under the charge of group hooliganism. LAW ENFORCERS DETAIN A PERSON FILMING A POLICE RAID On September 7, 2014, on Rustaveli Avenue, law enforcement officers detained a person who was filming a police raid with a mobile phone. According to news reports, the police officers forbade him and another person who accompanied him from filming the raid and deleted the filmed footage from his phone. [1] After the person who accompanied the journalist told the police officers that the files in his phone contained personal information and they had no right to see them, the police officers detained him. According to news reports, the detainee was taken first to a police station and then to a temporary detention isolator. According to the Press Service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the detained citizen was charged under Article 173 of the Code of Administrative Offences which envisages malicious disobedience to the legal orders or instructions of law enforcement officers while they are fulfilling their official duties. [2] According to the Press Service of the Tbilisi City Court, on September 8 the Court discontinued the proceedings against the person detained at the time of the raid due to the absence of an offence. [3] [1] [2] [3] POSTPONEMENT OF FULL INTRODUCTION OF THE INSTITUTION OF THE JURY On September 18, 2014, the Parliament of Georgia passed a bill on the first hearing according to which the full introduction of the institution of the jury will be postponed by two years till October 1, [1] According to the current version of the Code of Criminal Procedure, till October 1, 2014, the institution of the jury had only been introduced in the city courts of Tbilisi, Kutaisi, and Batumi in relation to concrete offences, while from October 1 it was supposed to be introduced throughout the country in relation to all the offences that are punishable by deprivation of freedom. As the initiators of the changes explain, the country is not ready for full introduction of jury trials. The initiators emphasize that two important problems were revealed in connection with the cases that have been adjudicated by juries till now on the one hand, the difficulty of selecting jury members and, accordingly, the unreasonable protraction of trials, and, on the other hand, low quality of the decisions reached by juries. Organizational and financial difficulties and the fact that the current model of the institution of the jury is in need of reform are added to the aforementioned. The postponement of the introduction of the institution of the jury has caused the criticism of NGOs. They point out that the arguments put forward by the initiators are too insufficient and ill-founded to halt the introduction of this important component of the justice reform. [2] It is necessary for all the three branches of government to realize the importance of full introduction of the institution of the jury and to implement all the necessary reforms in a timely manner to speed up its introduction. [1] [2]

4 4 SEPTEMBER, 2014 A STATEMENT OF NON-GOVERNMEN- TAL ORGANIZATIONS ABOUT THE GRAVE CRIMES COMMITTED RECENTLY On September 5, 2014, six non-governmental organizations released a joint statement on the information about grave crimes that was recently disseminated by the media. [1] The statement says that the replies of the Ministry of Internal Affairs to the questions of the media and the public about the recent crime wave are often incoherent and contradictory. Under these circumstances, the investigative bodies, and especially the Ministry of Internal Affairs, must ensure that the public is informed about what is being done to investigate the crimes in a timely manner and to hold the criminals responsible. At the same time, the NGOs state that it is necessary to revise the methods of struggle with and prevention of crime and to create a state policy and strategy in this direction. The NGOs call on the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the relevant bodies to publish complete statistical data on crime, which will make it possible to analyze the crime situation objectively. The statement also says that it is necessary to ensure the availability of the methodology of crime statistics for the media and the public. A CASE OF RELIGIOUS INTOLERANCE TOWARDS MUSLIMS IN KOBULETI On September 10, 2014, a case of religious intolerance was observed in the Kobuleti Municipality. Specifically, Citizens living in Kobuleti who identify themselves as members of the Orthodox parish protested the opening of a boarding house for Muslims. They slaughtered a pig at the entrance of the building and hung its head on its door. They also blocked the street with a demand to close the boarding house. There were cases of threats and verbal assaults. [1] In connection with the aforementioned, Georgian Democracy Initiative, together with other NGOs, released a statement. [2] In the assessment of the NGOs, the aforementioned incident may really contain signs of an administrative offence, as well as of a criminal offence, which makes it necessary for law enforcement bodies to study and respond to the fact. [3] The statement emphasizes the comments made by representatives of the local authorities which are of discriminatory character and encourage the escalation of intolerance. At an Islamophobic protest that was held on September 11, [4] law enforcement officers detained three persons on whom the court imposed a fine for an administrative offence. [5] It should be noted that the Orthodox population of Kobuleti continues to keep watch in front of the boarding house. They say they are not going to allow the opening of the boarding house by any means. [6] It should be emphasized that a representative of the Georgian Dream faction in the Supreme Council of Adjara, Makvala Tsenteradze, was at the protest to support the protest participants. In parallel, the Muslims held a peaceful protest in front of the building of the Adjara government. They demand the construction of a new mosque in Batumi and the opening of a madrasa in Kobuleti. [7] The NGOs made a statement about the ongoing events once again, emphasizing the passivity of the police and the local municipality. In their assessment, the ineffective policy pursued by the authorities deserves severe criticism. [8] The NGOs also released a special statement in connection with the news item about the aforementioned incident which was aired by the Rustavi 2 TV station. In their assessment, the TV station violated the norms of the Code of Ethics for Broadcasters and covered the issues related to Georgia s Muslim citizens freedom of religion in a discriminatory context. [9] [1] [2] [3] Ibid. [4] [5] ; [6] [7] [8] [1] [9]

5 5 SEPTEMBER, 2014 PRESSURE ON A JOURNALIST According to a special statement of the author of the Anatomy TV program, Natia Mikiashvili, and the Anatomy Studio, the journalist was threatened by Zviad Jankarashvili, a cousin of the Prime Minister s spouse. Specifically, he demanded that the program in which he was one of the participants must not be aired. [1] [1] POLICE OFFICERS PHYSICALLY BATTER A MAN AT A STADIUM On September 7, 2014, at the Dinamo Arena stadium, before the start of the Georgia-Ireland football match, police officers physically battered a young man in the presence of his minor child. [1] The man was standing on the stairs leading to one of the stadium s sectors when he had an argument with law enforcers. According to an eye-witness, A police officer hit a man who was holding a child of about three or four years old in his arms with full force. The man faltered on the stairs, but tried not to fall together with the child, though he was no longer able to withhold the second blow and fell down together with the child. After he had fallen, first five, then ten, and then perhaps 30 officers of the MIA rushed to beat him. [2] The Ministry of Internal Affairs confirms that the incident took place at the stadium. [3] According to the Press Service of the MIA, the man assaulted the law enforcers physically and an investigation into this fact is under way under Article 353 of the Criminal Code. [4] It is still unknown whether the General Inspection of the MIA has started an inquiry into possible exceeding of authority by the law enforcers. [1] [2] [3] [4] Resistance, threat, or violence against a protector of public order or other government representative is punishable under Article 353 of the Criminal Code. LEGISLATIVE INITIATIVES ON THE INITIATIVE OF THE MINISTRY OF JUSTICE OF GEORGIA, THE REGULATIONS ON THE PURCHASE OF AGRICULTURAL LAND BY FOREIGN NATIONALS MAY CHANGE AGAIN The Minister of Justice has already submitted a bill on a new procedure of alienation of agricultural land to aliens to the government. According to the changes, companies or other legal persons that were founded abroad will no longer be able to purchase agricultural land in Georgia. In addition, physical persons, aliens, and companies that were founded in Georgia, in accordance with the procedure established by Georgian law, will only be able to become owners of agricultural land if they meet special conditions. [1] New regulations are also being introduced in connection with disposal of agricultural land co-owned by an alien and a citizen of Georgia in the event of their divorce. We would like to remind the public that on June 26, 2014, [1] the Plenary Session of the Constitutional Court of Georgia found unconstitutional the norms of the Law of Georgia on the Ownership of Agricultural Land that deprived foreign nationals of the right to purchase agricultural land in Georgia. [2] Despite the aforementioned, with the decision of the Parliament of Georgia, from July 19, 2013, a moratorium was declared on alienation of land to aliens, and they were again deprived of the right to purchase land till December 31, The norms of the new wording of the law were also appealed in the Constitutional Court which again found them unconstitutional. [3] [2] The judgment No. 3/1/512 of the Constitutional Court of Georgia on the case of Danish citizen Heike Kronquist vs. the Parliament of Georgia, June 26, 2012; [3] The judgment No. 1/2/563 of the Constitutional Court of Georgia on the case of Austrian citizen Mathias Huter vs. the Parliament of Georgia, June 24, 2014;

6 6 SEPTEMBER, 2014 THE DRAFT LAW ON THE OFFICIAL LANGUAGE The Parliament has initiated the draft Law on the Official Language. According to Eka Beselia, the law aims at strengthening the official status of the Georgian language (in Abkhazia together with the Abkhaz language) and at taking care to ensure its use in all areas of public and social life, as well as its protection, development, learning, and popularization. The draft law envisages the creation of the Department of the Official Language and the Standing Commission on the Official Language, as well as measures of responsibility and monetary sanctions for violation of the requirements of the law. The changes contained in the draft law may be incorporated in the Law of Georgia on Broadcasting, and an article may be added to it according to which the mass media that broadcast in the official language will only be able to use a non-official language in no more than 10% of television and radio broadcasting time. [1] [1] CHANGES TO THE LAW OF GEORGIA ON FREE- DOM OF SPEECH AND EXPRESSION The Parliament has discussed the draft Law on Changes to the Law of Georgia on Freedom of Speech and Expression on the first hearing. According to the changes, a person who has a corresponding interest that is worth protecting will have the right to appeal to the court to protect the personal non-property rights of a deceased person from defamation. In addition, according to the draft law, such a person may not demand a material compensation for moral damages for blemishing the good name, honor, dignity, or business reputation. [1] It should be noted that the issue of constitutionality of the words deceased person in Paragraph 4 of Article 6 of the Law of Georgia on Freedom of Speech and Expression in relation to Article 17 and Paragraph 1 of Article 42 of the Constitution has already been raised in the Constitutional Court. According to the current wording of the law, a person does not have the right to dispute a defamatory statement expressed towards a deceased person. In connection with the aforementioned case, the Constitutional Court has already held a substantive hearing. [2] [1] [2]

7 7 SEPTEMBER, 2014 LEGISLATIVE CHANGES MADE IN SEPTEMBER 2014 From September 1, 2014, changes to the Law of Georgia on Medicine and Pharmaceutical Activity also came into force. According to the changes, a number of medicines may only be purchased with a prescription. From September 1, 2014, the Law of Georgia on the Legal Status of Aliens and Stateless Persons came into force. According to the explanatory note, the passage of the law was caused by unregulated immigration processes that had emerged as a result of extremely open visa policies. The law regulates several important issues, including the entry of aliens into Georgia, exit by transit and exit from Georgia, obtaining of visas of Georgia, procedures of obtaining a residence permit in Georgia, procedures of determining the status of stateless persons, etc. One of the major changes is that it will be possible to enter Georgia for 90 days during a 180-day period. On the basis of Article 431 of the EU-Georgia Association Agreement, provisional application of certain articles of the agreement also began from September 1, Specifically, about 80% of the Association Agreement, including the component of the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA), began to apply provisionally. [1] [1] id=30&info_id=18015 JUDGMENTS OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT 2 D. Gamrekeli Str., 3rd floor, Tbilisi 0194, Georgia Tel/Fax: ( ) info@gdi.ge THIS PROJECT IS FINANCIALLY SUPPORTED BY THE HUMAN RIGHTS FUND OF THE NETHERLANDS MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS With the judgment of September 12, 2014, the Constitutional Court of Georgia found unconstitutional the normative contents of the articles of the Law of Georgia on General Education which excluded foreign nationals living in Georgia from the circle of subjects who have the right to receive general education free of charge. According to the plaintiffs, they had to pay the tuition in an educational institution in order to receive general education, which contradicted the fundamental right to education and the principle of equality guaranteed by the Constitution. In the opinion of the Court, the aforementioned regulation violated Articles 14 and 35 of the Constitution. [1] It should be noted that in September 2014 the Supreme Court of Georgia lodged a submission with the Constitutional Court twice in accordance with Sub-paragraph D, Paragraph 2, Article 18 of the Organic Law of Georgia on Common Courts. [1] id=geo&sec_id=6&info_id=1432