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Court Hearings without Audio-Video Recording

June 20, 2007

Journalists working in Zugdidi do not appreciate the draft law on prohibition the Audio-Video recording of court hearings.

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Journalists from the Samegrelo Region oppose the initiative of the Legal Committee of the Georgian Parliament. The draft law is about prohibition of audio recording of the court hearings. The journalists say that the prohibition will prevent them to carry out their journalistic activities and to introduce the society with complete information.

Thea Shonia, regional correspondent for the Radio Tavisufleba said that the draft law will prevent the transparency of the court proceedings.  “If we want democratic and independent court, I think the attendance of mass media at the trials should be one of the most important factors. I, as a journalist, condemn the prohibition of video-recording of the court hearings.”

Head of the TV Company Imdi’s Samegrelo Office, Guga Lagviva, opposes the draft law. “Similar prohibitions will prevent us from our journalistic activities. Television cannot work without video-recordings.  Journalist must introduce video material together with complete information, otherwise it has no sense. The history must be supported with video materials. There is also another factor and it will badly tell on reliability of media; because the journalist will fail to prove his/her information. In many cases we could not prove our truth with video materials,” said Lagvilava.  His answer on the question-why the authority introduced similar draft law, was the following in his conversation with the Human Rights Center. “I think the authority does not want the society to know about the faults on judicial system. Every trial, which I have personally attended, was biased. Through restriction of the media, the authority tries to hide the faults in judicial system as well as the fact that the court is not an independent institution but a branch of a Prosecutor’s Office.”

Journalists, working for the local media organizations, assess the draft law as prevention of their journalistic activities.

Tamuna Shonia, a journalist for the Radio Atinati said that if a journalist has his/her professional rights violated, they will not be able to reveal the fact completely. “If you cannot record the court hearing, you feel like washing your face with one hand. Consequently we will not reveal any of trials properly. Neither in the past enjoyed we our rights during the trials. I mean we could publish the fact only unilaterally because judges never made comments for journalists. For example, I attended Nora Kvitsiani’s trails during a month, but only the lawyers of the accused side commented the situation with us. The judge could control the whole hall very well. Particularly he paid attention to me, my expression on the face and behavior very often made him order me to leave the hall. I think similar sanctions will create more problems for journalists to reveal the problems impartially.” said Shonia.

Lasha Gogilava, TV Company Odishi: “Of course we will have problems if we are not allowed to use recording equipments during the court proceedings. If state secrets were discussed during the trials they were closed; but there are court hearings when famous criminal cases are discussed and the society is particularly interested in them. I think such a restriction will encourage the public mistrust towards the journalists. “

Zaza Kvatsabaia, a lawyer and coordinator for the Human Rights Center’s Zugdidi office, said that adoption of similar law will be unreasonable in current situation in judicial system. “I condemn the prohibition of using the video-audio recording during the court hearings when situation is too urgent in Georgia. The society has information about the situation in judicial system when observing the famous court hearings; during those trials prosecutor acts instead of the judge and judges play part of simple notaries.  Although the draft law does not abuse democratic values and similar restrictions are in other European Democratic countries, unlike Georgia, their judicial systems are really independent,” said Kvatsabaia.

Nana Sajaia, Zugdidi

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