Statement of the Human Rights Center in Reply to Libel Statement of the Ministry of Correction and Legal Aid

The Ministry of Corrections and Legal Aid of Georgia [MCLA] responded to the June 4 press-conference of the Human Rights Center where the lawyers provided journalists with the information about dead prisoner.

“Statement about the Briefing of Human Rights Center’s Lawyer” – on the same evening the MCLA released the statement with the title in response to the Human Rights Center’s press-conference and tried to avoid its responsibility under the law by discrediting, libeling and insulting of the lawyer of the dead prisoner.

Almost one month later, the Ministry expressed its deep condolence about the death of the prisoner Valeri Japaridze only after Human Rights Center gave the press-conference about the fact. However, nobody had informed the society about this fact and reasons of the prisoner’s death.

In its statement, the Ministry tries to convince the society that the lawyer and not they were inattentive towards the prisoner and tries to prove it by allegation that lawyer Nestan Londaridze of the Human Rights Center arrived at the Prison # 17 on May 28 where she learned about the death of the prisoner. The Ministry states that the prisoner died on May 9 and “the lawyer inquired information about her client only 20 days after the death; before that she was not informed about the location and medical treatment of the prisoner. Apparently, neither the family considered it was necessary to inform the lawyer about the death of the convicted.”

The statement of the Ministry demonstrates stereotypic approach of the law enforcement institutions of Georgia towards not only lawyer Nestan Londaridze but to the institute of lawyers in general. MCLA, together with its subordinated penitentiary department and Prison # 17, perceive the lawyer is minor part of the judiciary process and do not consider it is their obligation to inform the lawyer about the death of his/her client though it is their obligation under the law.

The Ministry’s statement shows that the penitentiary establishment notified only the family of the dead prisoner about the fact but did not inform the lawyer. Due to set of circumstances neither family members of the dead prisoner informed the lawyers about the fact so the Human Rights Center did not have opportunity to get interested in the reasons of the prisoner’s death, to request impartial expertise and investigate obscure details in the case materials.

On June 4, Human Rights Center provided journalists with detailed information about Valeri Japaridze’s. They said that the Center is representing the dead prisoner at the European Court of Human Rights where the lawsuit was sent in 2010 and in 2011 finished communication with the Court in record short time; the Strasbourg Court recognized Valeri Japaridze’s lawsuit as priority due to his health conditions of the convicted. However, unfortunately, the Court has not passed judgment yet and the convicted will not see the judgment either.

Nestan Londaridze, lawyer of the Human Rights Center, did not contact prisoner Valeri Japaridze on daily basis because she was working on his application to the Strasbourg Court and this procedure did not require systematic contact between the lawyer and the applicant. Besides Nestan Londaridze, the prisoner had personal lawyer, who was working on early-release of the convicted at the national courts. While, the HRC mostly was interested in health conditions of Valeri Japaridze and on May 28 Londaridze visited the Prison # 17 for that purpose where she was informed about the death of the prisoner but did not say the exact day of his death.

Human Rights Center calls upon the Ministry of Corrections and Legal Aid to stop demagogy, purposeful discrediting of lawyers and to really take care of the prisoners with gross diseases instead expressing the ‘crocodile sorrow.”

The Ministry’s statement as if “they are always ready to provide society with any public information and cooperate with any constructive party concerning any case” is just empty words. If the Ministry were indeed interested in transparency, constructive cooperation and publicity, it would have published clarifications about the death of dozens of prisoners in custodies on their official website.

In addition to that, the irresponsible statement of the Ministry on June 4 convinced the Human Rights Center that Minister of Corrections and Legal Aid of Georgia Khatuna Kalmakhelidze should immediately quit her position and she and her colleagues must be punished under the law for the mortality of prisoners which has became trend in penitentiary system for the last two years.

Human Rights Center
07.06.12