Falsified Witnesses – Documentary about Political Prisoner

Sopo Getsadze

On April 13 the Human Rights Center screened a new documentary “Falsified Witnesses “in the Cinema House. The film is about the imprisonment of a former high-ranking officer of the Border Police of Georgia Mamuka Shengelia.

Mamuka Shengelia was arrested for illegal purchase of firearms, for the possession of particularly large amount of weapon and for the attempt of drug-abuse in 2009.

The representatives of the Human Rights Center said they studied the case of Mamuka Shengelia and concluded that his arrest was politically motivated. When screening the secret video-recordings, the Ministry of Internal Affairs said Mamuka Shengelia prepared state coup as a member of the political party of the former chairwoman of the parliament of Georgia and needed to purchase the weapon for that purpose.

Due to the information policy of the MIA, big part of society still has wrong opinion about those imprisonments. Many people believe members of Nino Burjanadze’s political party massively purchased firearms and really planned military coup in the country. In fact, nobody interrogated the leaders of the political party on Mamuka Shengelia’s case. The MIA did not ask them whether they really planned any coup in the country. Mamuka Shengelia was finally sent to prison for 7 years and imposed with the fine of 3 000 GEL though not for the state coup but for slighter crimes.

The author of the documentary Giorgi Janelidze said law enforcement officers committed some crimes during investigation. More precisely, the crime was provoked and it is punished by a long-term imprisonment under Article 145 of the Criminal Code of Georgia. “Unfortunately, as you see, so-called selective application of the law is observed here. However, in the country where democratic values are respected, provokers of the crime shall be punished properly.”

A leader of the Conservative Party Lasha Chkhartishvili shares the opinion of the author of the film and said the film verifies the allegation that Mamuka Shengelia is a political prisoner.

Dachi Tsaguria from the non-governmental organization November 7 agreed him: “Unfortunately, firearms and drugs are often planted in Georgia.”

After the screening, audience started discussion how to resolve the problem and they agreed that active involvement of society has a key role in it. Society should re-obtain its political and civil rights though it is impossible without their active involvement in the process.

The former official of the Georgian Border Police was detained on March 23, 2009. He was sent to prison for 7 years and imposed with the fine of 3 000 GEL. The Human Rights Center sent the case of Shengelia to the Strasbourg Human Rights Court.

The Falsified Witness was funded by the donors of the Human Rights Center – National Endowment for Democracy (NED) and Norwegian Helsinki Committee.