Web Portal on Human Rights in Georgia

On April 4 an article, “Kvareli District Governor Is Blamed for Murdering Children”, was published on the web-site of the Human Rights Center and it caused public resonance. The Prosecutor’s Office renewed criminal investigation on the murder of juvenile brothers, Zakro and Kakha Gheleghutashvilis. Besides that, Mamuka Kuprashvili, the governor of the Kvareli District, offered resignation.

“Prosecutor’s brother protects the killer of my brother.” On March 25 terrible car accident happened in Telavi. Besik Mrelashvili, a patrol policeman, crashed twenty-year-old Giga Charbadze in the town center. Mrelashvili was drunk when driving his own car. Badly injured Charbadze died in the hospital. Having arrived at the scene of accident, patrol policemen tried to hush up the crime and made fraudulent documents as investigation materials show. However, the prosecutor’s office has not charged them yet. Besik Mrelashvili is not detained either; he paid 25 000 lari as a bail.

Gulnaz Arikh Khizi, a resident of the village of Kharadjala, in the Telavi District, threatens to commit a suicide. Azerbaijan woman said that the reason of her decision was a criminal case that was launched against her at the Telavi Police Station. She is accused for disobedience. Gulnaz Arikh Khizi claims that law enforcers pursue her on national grounds and threaten to detain her.

Statistics on dead prisoners is catastrophic. 28 prisoners died within three months-nobody remembers similar statistic. It is the statistic of the first three months of 2007. Several days ago, three prisoners died on the same day. Experts call the situation in the penitentiary system catastrophic and urge to take urgent preventive measures.

Prisoners started to complain about unbearable conditions in the Kutaisi Prison # 2 since the day it was opened. Food is delivered late, there is not sufficient medical base, and canalization system is in disorder and rain leaks into the building and makes ponds in the cells. These are details which have been criticized for so long time.

There is fifteen kilometers between the village and the district center. The villagers have to walk that distance for two years already. Teachers come from the neighboring villages who work at the public school in Kitaani. The population of the village has petitioned to the government. The Ministry of Education sent a special bus to transport teachers and pupils but that bus is still a ‘prisoner’ in the yard of the school watchman.

People appealed to the district Administrative Board, Municipality, Sanitary Supervision Inspection and police several times. Last year, they have applied to the court to avoid danger but the judge did not discuss their case for having “no grounds and being many faults in it”. Shortly speaking, nobody got interested in the problem until last week, two people died as a result of explosion in a small cottage enterprise in the village of Jugaani in the Sighnaghi District.