Categories
Journalistic Survey
Articles
Reportage
Analitic
Photo Reportage
Exclusive
Interview
Foreign Media about Georgia
Editorial
Position
Reader's opinion
Blog
Themes
Children's Rights
Women's Rights
Justice
Refugees/IDPs
Minorities
Media
Army
Health
Corruption
Elections
Education
Penitentiary
Religion
Others

Eviction from Gorgasali Street

January 9, 2015
 
Giorgi Janelidze

On December 3, four IDP families were evicted from Gorgasali street 1st lane # 75. The families of Kopaliani, Meshveliani, Nachkebia and Grigolia had lived there since 2000.

Nunu Meshveldiani, whose two brothers were killed in the Abkhaz war, said they had petitioned to the Ministry of Economics for the registration of the plot in the Gorgasali street 1st lane # 75 several times; they were ready to pay 45 000 USD for it. “We do not request anything from the Ministry of IDPs from Occupied Territories, Accommodation and Refugees; we have never received any aid from them expect 22-lari monthly allowance. We petitioned to the Ministry of Economics several times and requested to allow us purchase of the plot with the compensation sum the state was about to pay to us. We usually pay gas, electricity and other bills. The Ministry of Economics put our documents aside and sold the plot to foreign investors for 1 lari. We had lived there since 2000. There were 18-year-old plants, grape-trees there; we grew vegetables in the plot. They did not even give us the construction materials, which we had purchased in Eliava market; they destroyed and took everything.”

Several police officers attended the eviction process but they did not answer our questions.

Aleksandre Kopaliani is an IDP from Abkhazia. He is a veteran of Abkhaz war and has one leg injured; he calls himself “one-legged man.” “Chairperson of the Human Rights Committee at the Parliament of Georgia Eka Beselia and MP Vakhtang Khmaladze petitioned to the Ministries of Economics and Refugees and asked them to set up a commission to study our case. But they did not review our documents and did not consider our petition. They sold the plot to foreigners. I am a war veteran, one-legged man and they destroyed my hardly built house. My neighbor’s nephew died and we went to his funeral; when we returned I found my house destroyed.”

Building Company R Avner and Hana allegedly purchased the plot in Gorgasali street 1st lane # 75. The company representative Davit Abramishvili refused to make an official comment. “I represent the company but cannot make official comment. Our company purchased the territory in February and we plan to construct a school there.” 

Member of the monitoring group of the Human Rights House Tbilisi Lawyer Irine Kasradze evaluated the situation: “Aleksandre Kopaliani has a lawyer, who defends his rights at the court and assists him in the communication with administrative bodies. In the moment of eviction I could not see his lawyer there. It was not spontaneous eviction: the corresponding institutions had notified the families about eviction a month before. The land the families lived in was state property. Unfortunately, the house was not well adjusted to the land that could allow the families to register the plot. The IDPs said they paid electricity and gas bills. So, it could become the ground for the land registration. Unfortunately, I do not know more details in the case and cannot make additional comments about it.”

As the lawyer said, the house was not valid construction. It was barrack style building and four families shared it. 

News