HONORARY CHAIRMAN Yuri Orlov. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Aaron Rhodes. DEPUTY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Brigitte Dufour

Transcription

1 HONORARY CHAIRMAN Yuri Orlov EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Aaron Rhodes DEPUTY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Brigitte Dufour ADVISORY BOARD (CHAIR) Karl von Schwarzenberg EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Sonja Biserko Holly Cartner Bjørn Engesland Krassimir Kanev Andrzej Rzeplinski PRESIDENT Ludmilla Alexeyeva VICE PRESIDENT Ulrich Fischer TREASURER Stein-Ivar Aarsæther Wickenburgg. 14/7, A-1080 Vienna, Austria; Tel ; Fax internet: Bank account: Bank Austria Creditanstalt, /00, BLZ ANNUAL REPORT 1999 Georgia 1 IHF Focus: Elections; freedom of expression and political prisoners; freedom of assembly; freedom of the media; judicial system and independence of the judiciary; torture and ill-treatment; prison conditions; conscientious objection; ill-treatment in the army; Abkhazia. On 27 January 1999, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe voted in favor of admitting Georgia as a member of the European organization. Georgia made great efforts to draft new laws which were consistent with international standards and introduce accompanying structural reforms, but there was still a large gap between existing legislation and its proper implementation. A lack of accountability raised doubts about the integrity of the government s new approach to human rights violations. It failed to properly and independently investigate human rights abuses, both past and present, and bring those responsible to justice. There were still serious problems relating to police ill-treatment and torture. Reform of the penitentiary system remained an urgent task, and should be given utmost priority. Since 1992, real or presumed supporters of the government of former President Zviad Gamsakhurdia have been subjected to harassment and to prison terms of over ten years. In addition, critics of President Eduard Shevardnadze s administration have routinely been detained for periods ranging from two days to two weeks. On numerous occasions during 1998, peaceful public assemblies of the extraparliamentary political opposition were dispersed, and demonstrators arrested, following a pattern that had continued since Prominent opposition persons, supporters of former President Gamsakhurdia, were brutally beaten, and one was killed during a demonstration in December These violations of human rights in Georgia were sometimes defended in the name of "security". The IHF believes that they were internally destabilizing, and constituted, in themselves, threats to security. In a February 1998 letter to the Georgian Ombudsman David Salaridze, the IHF called for more tolerance toward political opponents, as well improvements, after The IHF has consultative status with the United Nations and the Council of Europe. MEMBER AND COOPERATING* COMMITTEES IN: Albania Austria Azerbaijan - Belarus Bosnia-Herzegovina Bulgaria Canada Croatia Czech Republic Denmark Finland France Georgia* Germany Greece Hungary Italy Kazakhstan Kosovo Kyrgyzstan Latvia Lithuania Macedonia Moldova Montenegro The Netherlands Norway Poland Romania Russia Serbia Slovakia Slovenia Sweden Switzerland Ukraine* United Kingdom United States Uzbekistan* COOPERATING ORGANIZA TIONS: The European Roma Rights Center Human Rights Without Frontiers Mental Disability Advocacy Center

2 President Shevardnadze s speech to the nation on 24 May 1997, where he said he would work toward reconciliation.2 In 1998, there was still not much sign of reconciliation or tolerance toward the political opposition. A very serious issue was the more than 100 political prisoners still being held in various labor camps and detention facilities, who had been sentenced on charges of terrorism and high treason in often unfair trials following the ousting of President Gamsakhurdia in As of the end of 1998, no steps had been taken to review their cases. The IHF considered reports and assessments by the Council of Europe Political Affairs Committee and the Committee for Legal Affairs and Human Rights, although to a certain extent critical, far more positive than the opinions expressed by the IHF, Georgian NGOs, and the OSCE Mission to Georgia. The reports gave the impression that they were produced to comply with the foregone decision of admitting Georgia to the Council of Europe. In its January 1999 letter to the president of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe IHF stated that "regrettably, the strategy of admitting new members before they have reached appropriate standards, under the theory that membership will help them improve, has proved an abject failure in a number of recent cases." In 1998, the IHF's concerns particularly regarded Georgia's failure to meet UN treaty obligations. In November 1996 and March 1997, Georgia was examined by the UN Committee against Torture (CAT) under the Convention Against Torture, and the Human Rights Committee under the ICCPR. Despite Georgia having admitted to the use of torture in its periodic report, steps were still not taken to implement the recommendations made by these UN Committees. Elections On November the first local elections since 1991 were held. The turnout was low, just above the required 33.3 percent minimum nationwide, according to the Central Electoral Commission Chairman. Voting was marred by minor procedural violations in a number of places.4 Opposition party spokesmen accused the Union of Citizens of Georgia (SMK) of falsifying votes, but international observers described the ballot as democratic.5 Local elections were contested by many parties, but were held without any major violent incidents. The preliminary statement made by the OSCE described the elections as a very significant step towards establishment of

3 self-governance, effectively responsive to the needs of the local community.6 However, the president still had the right to nominate all governors, as well as the mayors of the five biggest cities. The Georgian Communist Party was refused registration by the Central Electoral Commission on the grounds that a political party calling for the reinstatement of the USSR did not have the right to participate in those elections. Freedom of Expression and Political Prisoners According to the Ombudsman Salaridze Georgia, there were 20 political prisoners in the Avtchala labor colony sentenced on charges of high treason and robbery, often after unfair trials. In addition, more than 80 individuals were serving their sentences in other detention facilities.7 The ombudsman called for a re-investigation of their cases, because, without a political assessment of the events (the ousting of former President Zviad Gamsakhurdia), sentences for high treason may be called into question.8 The IHF strongly supports the recommendation made by the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly to review the cases of persons convicted or detained for their part in the political upheavals of In April 1998, under the individual complaints procedure, the UN Human Rights Committee determined that complaints brought by four political prisoners, V. Domukocvsky, Z. Tsiklauri, P.Gelbekhani and I.Dokvadze, revealed serious breaches of Georgia's obligations under the ICCPR. This was the first time that Georgian citizens had secured a decision on their behalf by the UN Human Rights Committee. The Committee believed that the four men were "entitled...to an effective remedy, including their release." As of this writing, no remedy had been proposed. On the contrary, a letter was sent from the Georgian authorities to the Human Rights Committee in August 1998, appealing to the Committee for the reconsideration of its conclusions. A representative of the Council of Europe visited Petre Gelbachiani at the detention center on 10 July. This visit was not impeded by the authorities, but, immediately afterwards, Gelbachiani was attacked by a fellow prisoner and wounded many times on the face and neck - apparently by a razor. It was rumored that the dispute was a politically motivated. Yet, the authorities apparently forced Gelbachiani to state that he had attempted suicide. Gelbachiani is an opponent of the regime. 10

4 Six political prisoners died in the period On 28 January 1999, the political prisoner and former officer of the state army in support of former President Gamsakhurdia, Koba Tsimintia (28), died in a prison hospital of tuberculosis and anemia. He was serving his sentence in Rustavi labour camp. His weight was allegedly 35 kg at the time of death. He had been offered a job in the state army in exchange for coming out of hiding. Instead, he was arrested and sentenced to eight years prison under articles 96, 209 and 243 of the criminal code.11 - Nemo Chanturia, member of the National guards of the former government, had, in 1998, served six years of his term in Avchala colony. He affirmed that he had been tortured and ill-treated repeatedly since then and, as a result, his health has been in a critical state for the last years. He received treatment in the prison republic hospital, but that treatment was insufficient.12 Following a letter from the IHF to the Georgian authorities in March 1999, Mr. Chanturia was transferred to a hospital where he will receive adequate care. Georgian authorities were very responsive, and telephoned the IHF the next day. In a follow-up letter, the IHF raised the cases of the following political prisoners, also with serious health conditions: Karlo Djichonaia, who suffered from tuberculosis and paralyzed legs; Bidzina Gorelishvili who, as a result of torture, was diagnosed as psychotic with chronic depression syndrome; and David Kacharava who suffered from acute tuberculosis in both lungs. None of the political prisoners whose cases had been raised were affected by the amnesties of spring 1998 and January Ombudsman Salaridze s appeal resulted in the release of Nugzar Molodinashvili, a former member of the Supreme Council of Georgia and a supporter of former President Gamskahurdia. Molodinashvili was sentenced in 1995 to seven year's imprisonment for high treason, but was released on 25 August Mr. Domokhowsky, a Polish national imprisoned as leader of the group in the "Gavarelli Forest case" was released in December 1998, following a presidential pardon. The rest of the group remained in prison, and their cases had not been reviewed. In October, the IHF met with the chairman of the Parliamentary Human Rights Committee, and inquired as to why over 100 persons, including critics of the current

5 government and several human rights activists, had been detained in Tbilisi the night before, in response to events in West Georgia. The answer was: "Because they are idiots!" The wife of one the detainees later informed the IHF that the police had told her husband that he had been arrested "because of what he was thinking." Freedom of Assembly Although there were no problems for various groups obtaining registration in 1998, peaceful public assemblies of the extra-parliamentary political opposition were repeatedly dispersed and demonstrators arrested. In one incident, a meeting of a religious group was also dispersed. - On 31 March, when Georgia officially celebrated the 7th anniversary of the referendum on its independence, police and OMON14 units dispersed attempted opposition rallies. There were no casualties. On the previous day, the police had arrested Lali Gagua, Elza Chinchaladze, and Eter Mdivnishvili, three women who had been posting invitations to the rally. They were held for several hours at the police department of Mtatsminda District On 9 April, when Georgia was commemorating the 9 April 1989 massacre by Russian troops and the declaration of Georgia s independence in 1991, the political opposition was again hindered from gathering. While highest authorities brought flowers to the memorial of the tragic event, supporters of the political opposition were hindered from doing the same. The police dispersed their meeting with force, injuring participants and journalists. Twelve people were arrested. The operation was lead by Minister of the Interior Kakha Targamadze, Tbilisi Police Chief Soso Alavidze, Commander of the OMON Detachment Temur Mgebrishvili, and some high-ranking police officers.16 - On 26 May the police and OMON brutally beat and raided a rally of the political opposition, held on the Republic Square to celebrate Georgian Independence Day. These repressive actions were led by the Tbilisi Police Chief, Soso Alavidze, and the Commander of the OMON, Temur Mgebrishvili On 28 October, during the celebration of the anniversary of the first post-soviet elections, the meeting was brutally dispersed by OMON forces under Mgebrishvili s command. Electroshocks were used to disperse the crowd. The organizer of the meeting, the widow of former President Gamsakhurdia, had her leg broken during the

6 raid, and was also subjected to electric shocks. On 17 December one person was killed when more than 100 members of the political opposition "Round Table" held a hunger strike in a court yard in Tbilisi. During the night, OMON forces came and dispersed the rally. During the raid, one of the participants of the rally, former Deputy Minister of Energy under President Gamsakhurdia, Nugzar Lejava, was hit on the head so severely that his skull was fractured. His body was found the next day. Freedom of Media Freedom of the printed media appeared to be satisfactory in Georgia, though certain incidents did occur. There were approximately 300 newspapers and magazines of all political complexions. However, it seemed that authorities practiced financial backing of some newspapers and economic stifling of others.18 There was no restriction on the publication of articles critical of the government, but the opposition criticized that it was not granted access to state television. There were two independent TV channels, but only the state channel had nationwide coverage. In response to criticisms, a law on electronic media was being prepared with the aim of turning the state channels into public channels under the supervision of an administrative board composed of independent members, thereby eliminating direct control by the authorities. 19 In May 1998 a group of Georgian journalists20 started the project "Night Reports," whose main aim was to disclose facts of law violations committed by the police and other law enforcement agencies during the night. The information was passed to newspapers and other media the next morning. After the first ten published reports, the police started to react. At the enlarged governmental meeting of 25 July, the head of Tbilisi Police, Soso Alavidze, said that there were "internal enemies of Georgia sided with external ones," and that journalists of "Night Reports" were sapping at the foundations of the state. Chairman of Parliament, Zurab Zhvania, later apologized for this statement.21 - On 21 September, while trying to interview the Head of the Tbilisi Police, Soso Alavidze, a group of journalists were insulted by the commander of the special police force, Temur Mgebrishvili. One of the journalists, Kote Vardzelashvili, came to blows with a policeman. As a result, Kote Vardzelashvili and Gogi Kavtaradze were forced into a car, and transferred to the police station. While in the car, both journalists were

7 threatened with rape, and severely beaten. They were released two hours later, thanks to the help of the ombudsman, lawyers, and mass media. A medical examination confirmed the beating.22 During the investigation, the Prosecutor's Office threatened Kote Vardzelashvili with preventive punishment as "a person dangerous for society." After a public campaign in his support, the Prosecutor's Office prolonged the investigation without accusing either side.23 On 18 November, three members of the Liberty Institute ("Night Reports" group) were contacted and "required" to take measures to stop any publications against Alavidze and the police. Their families were also threatened. Meanwhile, Eliso Chapidze, reporter for the newspaper Rezonansi, who had published several critical articles of Soso Alavidze, also received phone threats.24 The Judicial System and Independence of the Judiciary Judicial reform was under way, and a new law introduced a new professional examination for all judges. This was aimed to counter incompetence and corruption among judges. Two examinations were held under the supervision of international experts. However, on 3 November, the Georgian Constitutional Court rejected as "unconstitutional" the law passed earlier in The ruling effectively nullified the authority of some 90 judges who had already passed the examination. The author of Georgia's legal reform program, parliamentary majority leader Mikhail Saakashvili, condemned the decision as "tendentious." Parliamentary Speaker Zurab Zhvania said it would delay the introduction of "a normal court system" by at least three years. 25 To improve prosecutor's competence and moral integrity, full replacement of the complement of prosecutors has been planned for , in accordance with the same principles that govern the reform of the courts. According to the principal state prosecutor, five prosecutors were dismissed in the first six months of 1998 for "illegal decisions." Two prosecutors were charged with corruption.26 A new law on lawyers was under preparation. According to several lawyers, corruption and incompetence on the part of the judges, police officers and public prosecutors had an adverse effect on the practice of their professions. The democratic principle of the right to a defense, as laid down by law, was not systematically applied in practice. However, improvements were expected after judicial reform was completed. 27

8 Torture and Ill-Treatment 28 The issue of torture and ill-treatment has been a major human rights problem in Georgia in recent years, and allegations of such incidents continued in A majority of detainees were subjected to torture as a routine method of extracting "confessions" or other information. Most allegations related either to short-term detention in police facilities or pre-trial detention. In the first case, beatings were reportedly sometimes accompanied by extortion, with relatives facing financial or other demands in exchange for a detainee s release. Detainees in pre-trial detention were allegedly subjected to physical and psychological duress, in order to force confessions or obtain information. The denial of access to a defense lawyer contributed to such abuses. Forms of torture included hanging upside down, scalding with hot water, and systematic beating resulting in fractured bones and broken teeth. Some were subjected to electric shock treatment. Threats that family members would be tortured or murdered were also used against detainees. The UN Human Rights Committee reported in 1997 on torture of detainees, including torture to extract confessions, and deplored the fact that such acts usually went unpunished. The Committee was also concerned about prison conditions, which it described as "disastrous." As the Committee noted, the lack of concerted, robust response by the authorities to numerous reports of torture undermined confidence in any official commitment to tackle the issue. The Georgian authorities recognized that isolated incidents had occurred, but they claimed that the accusations leveled against the police were being investigated, and that severe steps were being taken whenever violations were proved. According to the principal state prosecutor, 96 police officers were found guilty, in 1997 and the first six months of 1998, of various crimes committed in the course of their duties. 29 In February 1998, the IHF sent a letter to newly appointed Ombudsman Salaridze to draw his attention to several human rights concerns in that country. The IHF welcomed the presidential amnesty of the fall of 1997, which resulted in the release of over 2,000 prisoners. However, it noted that none of the political prisoners mentioned on the list of imprisoned supporters of former President Gamsakhurdia, that the IHF submitted to the UN Committee for Human Rights in 1997, were covered by this amnesty.30 All these prisoners had been subject to torture, and many were in very bad health, often as a result of torture.

9 The IHF pointed out that the Georgian government had failed to review the cases brought to the attention of the UN Committee for Human Rights and the Committee against Torture in 1996 and 1997, and to investigate all cases of reported human rights violations. Ombudsman Salaridze replied to the IHF in August, giving, among other things, information on the health of some prisoners whose cases had repeatedly been taken up by the IHF. He admitted that "the present condition of the aforementioned prisoners raises some doubts of unlawful treatment towards them," but no further steps were taken. He also expressed his hope that the reorganization of the judiciary and the Ministry of the Interior, and moving the penitentiary system from the jurisdiction of the Ministry of the Interior to that of the Ministry of Justice, would bring about improvements to the present situation. - On 25 January Gogi Shiukashvili was detained by police in the Gldani district, Tbilisi, on suspicion of stealing wheels from a car repair workshop. He was beaten both upon detention and later at the Tbilisi City Police Administration. He claimed that he was severely beaten with truncheons over a period of 15 days until he confessed, in writing, to crimes which he had not committed. He alleged that, during the first two weeks he was in prison, he was virtually unable to move due to the beatings he had received, and that 18 other detainees in his cell were witnesses to his condition. The Tbilisi city procurator initiated investigations into these allegations.31 - On 19 February police in Tbilisi reportedly detained Malkhaz Kamsiashvili, who claimed that he was severely beaten both while being taken into custody and afterwards at the City Police Administration. He claimed he was made to stand naked in freezing water and was hit repeatedly on the stomach in an attempt to force him to confess. Kamsiashvili reportedly spent some time in the republican hospital for prisoners as a result of his injuries. It was further claimed that a medical examination on the basis of which it might have been possible to confirm or refute his allegation of ill-treatment was arranged only after 20 days.32 On 16 March police officers from the Saburtalo district of Tbilisi detained 17-year old Levan Gagua on suspicion of murdering his stepmother. They reportedly took him to the second floor of the Saburtalo district police station, where he was threatened with rape. He was later transferred to the Tbilisi City Police Administration, where he claimed that he eventually "confessed" after being tortured, over a period of five days, with electric shocks. Levan Gagua apparently submitted, in writing, details of the alleged torture to investigator Gia Nukridze, who has initiated an investigation into

10 these reports. Prison Conditions Conditions in Georgian prisons and detention facilities deteriorated along with the general economic situation, a fact recognized by Georgian authorities. The large number of prisoners in facilities designed for smaller prison populations resulted in serious overcrowding, with many prisoners having to sleep in turn due to the lack of beds. This facilitated the spread of contagious diseases, particularly a form of tuberculosis which was resistant to treatment. In general, medical treatment of prisoners remained inadequate. All meals for prisoners were provided by the family. On the positive side, Georgian authorities allowed the Red Cross access to all detention centers, including those on Interior Ministry premises. A decision was taken in principle to transfer responsibility for the prison system from the Ministry of Interior to the Ministry of Justice, but its implementation was postponed. 33 The Sub-Committee on Human Rights of the Council of Europe visited the only prison for women in Georgia. At the time of the visit, 187 women were held there, about a third convicted for drug-related activities. They were housed in 66-bed dormitories. Sanitary conditions were extremely poor, and the inmates were totally inactive. 34 The Sub-Committee was able to meet one prisoner who, according to Human Rights Watch, had to have a leg amputated following ill-treatment during detention on remand. During the interview he claimed that he had, in fact, been injured during an act of terrorism, and had not received the necessary medical care in hospital. However, the interview was conducted in the partial presence of prison doctors.35 Conscientious Objection Military service was compulsory for young men aged 18 to 27. Although there have been laws since 1990 providing a civilian alternative for those unable to perform military service, these have remained on paper only. Those with conscientious objections have, therefore, remained at risk of prosecution for seeking to exercise

11 their internationally recognized right to refuse compulsory military service. In September 1997 the Georgian parliament passed a new law on alternative service, set to come into force 1 January As of this writing the law had not been implemented or accompanied by the necessary mechanisms, which would enable objectors to take advantage of its provisions. 36 Ill-Treatment in the Army Independent papers such as Alia, Akhali Taoba, and Adamianis Uplebeb, as well as television channels Rustavi-2 and Sakartvelos Khma, reported on grave violations of human rights in the Georgian army by officers, including rape, often ending in suicide, and extortion, especially in connection with short term leave. Such incidents were also confirmed by the Georgian Military Prosecutor's Office. 37 Poor living and sanitary conditions, together with brutal hazing were said to have been the cause of many desertions. This was confirmed by Elena Tevdoradze, Chairperson of the Parliamentary Sub-Committee on Penal Reform. At a Defense Ministry meeting in June, the chief of the general staff of the Georgian armed forces, Maj-Gen Joni Pirtskhalaishvili, reportedly stated that 150 criminal offences had been committed in the armed forces during the first five months of 1998, including murder, and that four suicides had been recorded. He was also quoted as saying that, to date, no significant measure had been taken to resolve the problems of desertion and living conditions in the army. Even the Minister of Defense, Davit Tevzadze, reportedly described army conditions as "unbearable" at a press conference in May. 38 Abkhazia The disputed break-away region of Abkhazia remained outside the control of the Georgian authorities. Following its secession in 1993, over 300,000 ethnic Georgians fled the region, and only about 40,000 had been able to return home as of the end of 1998, because Abkhazian authorities balked the return. Russian troops were deployed in the region in 1994 to hinder clashes between the two parties. Attempts to solve the conflict were stalled, and Georgia warned Moscow it that it might demand the peacekeepers' withdrawal if they failed to help the refugees return.39 By the end of 1998, no action had been taken on either side to deal with crimes committed in the conflict.

12 - On 18 May an attack on Abkhaz militia in the Gali district, allegedly by members of so-called Georgian partisan groups, led to the worst armed clashes in the region since Georgian authorities put the death toll at over There were further actions against the Georgian population of the Gali district in Abkhazia on May, forcing about 40,000 Georgian refugees to leave their homes, and taking shelter in the Zugdidi and Tsalendjikha districts of Georgia. During the hostilities, several villages were burnt, and there were numerous victims. The Georgian Ambassador to Russia estimated the number of civilians killed during the fighting in May at "several hundred." 41 - On 23 September the Coordination Council of the refugees from Abkhazia, which is in opposition to the Tbilisi-based Supreme Council of Abkhazia and the Georgian government, was hindered from holding a two-day conference. The police did not allow the participants to enter the Tbilisi concert hall that they had rented for the occasion. The police also arrested the son of the congress' organizer, Boris Kakubava, who heads the Coordinating Council of Political Parties and Organizations of Abkhazia and Samachblo (South Ossetia).Two days later they were allowed to enter, but this time the electricity supply failed after 15 minutes.42 During the Abkhaz local elections on 14 March, several people were killed and many more wounded in clashes between ethnic Abkhazians, who wanted the poll to go ahead, and ethnic Georgians, who opposed the vote. The previous day, the UN Security Council President released a statement declaring the vote "illegitimate." According to Amnesty International, 12 people were under death sentence in Abkhazia in May 1998, but no executions had been carried out in recent years. Georgia abolished the death penalty in FOOTNOTES: 1. Unless otherwise noted, based on information obtained by the IHF and CAUCASIA-Research and Information Centre for Human Rights and Conflict Studies. 2. See also IHF Annual Report RFE/RL Newsline, 16 November RFE/RL Newsline, 18 November Georgia s Application for Membership of the Council of Europe, Doc. 8296, Council of Europe, Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights, 12 January Interfax Daily News Bulletin, 25 September 1998; RFE/RL Newsline, 28

13 September Information from CAUCASIA. 8. Sakartvelos Gazeti, No. 268, 26 August Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly, Opinion No. 209 (1999). 10. Georgia s Application for Membership of the Council of Europe, Doc. 8296, Council of Europe, Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights, 12 January Alia, No.18, 2 February Georgian Independent Medical League, February Sakartvelos Gazeti, No. 268, 26 August Georgian special security forces 15. Rezonansi, No. 6 (1134), 1 April According to the report of the Political Affairs Committee of the Council of Europe, the event passed peacefully. 16. Akhali Taoba, No. 97 (864)/ Sakartvelos Gazeti, No. 35, 1 July Droni, No. 106, September Georgia's Application for Membership of the Council of Europe, Doc. 8275, Political Affairs Committee, Council of Europe, 2 December A group of journalists from the Liberty Institute. 21. Report from the Liberty Institute, Tbilisi, 3 February Rezonansi No.259, 22 September 1998; Report from the Liberty Institute, Tbilisi, 3 February Report from the Liberty Institute, Tbilisi, 3 February Ibid. 25. Interfax, 5 November 1998; RFE/RL Newsline, 6 November Georgia's Application for Membership of the Council of Europe, Doc. 8275, Council of Europe Political Affairs Committee, 2 December Ibid. 28. Georgia Summary of Amnesty International's Concerns, EUR 56/02/98, August 1998; Information from IHF and CAUCASIA. 29. Georgia's Application for Membership in the Council of Europe, Doc. 8275, Council of Europe Political Affairs Committee, 2 December See Human Rights Violations in Georgia, IHF, Georgia Summary of Amnesty International's Concerns, EUR 56/02/98, August Ibid. 33. Ibid. 34. Georgia s Application for Membership of the Council of Europe, Doc. 8296, Council of Europe, Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights, 12 January Ibid.

14 36. Georgia Summary of Amnesty International's Concerns, EUR 56/02/98, August Report of the National Group of Georgia of the International Society for Human Rights/ISHR-IGFM and the Tbilisi Working Group of the Netherlands Helsinki Union, 7 June Georgia Summary of Amnesty International's Concerns, EUR 56/02/98, August Associated Press, 18 March RFE/RL Newsline, 2 June RFE/RL Newsline, 2 June Akhali Taoba, No. 264, 25 September 1998; Alia, No. 163, 24 September 1998; RFE/RL Newsline, 24 September 1998; RFE/RL Newsline, 28 September Amnesty International Concerns in Europe: January-June 1998, EUR 01/02/98.

15