Not Guilty Findings in Batumi

Maka Malakmadze, Batumi

Courts of Adjara Autonomous Republic have not passed any verdicts of not guilty in the last two years. According to official statistics the number of plea-bargains has been increased. “I have not seen anyone found not guilty in the courts as of yet. How can we speak about justice in such an unjust country,”- it is the collective attitude of Batumi residents when it comes to situation that now exists in the judiciary system.

After two-month-long waiting period the public information finally provided by the Batumi City Court states: “In 2007, Batumi City Court did not passed a single verdict of not guilty; six accused defendants were sentenced to life in prison. Judges have not used the precedents of the Human Rights European Court in their decision-making.” However, it is now clear that they could not manage to provide the information about the changed qualifications of accused people during a reasonable period of time.   

In 2007 Batumi City Court discussed 1,451 cases. 998 cases out of the total ended by the Court finding the defendants guilty, while others cases ended when plea-bargain when agreements were reached. Jemal Kiknadze, the chairperson of the Batumi City Hall explains that the similar situation is a result of a good professionalism of local investigative structures. “Criminal cases are transferred to the court with corresponding evidences; that means the cases are accompanied with actionable evidence. Later, we estimated during the trials that there is no support in the case material that would support the defendants.”

How do lawyers assess the fact of “disappearance’ of verdicts of not guilty during the actual practice of the legal process?

Edisher Makharadze, the lawyer: “Criminal Procedural Code does not envisage the instances of poor investigations being completed. I think preliminary investigation cannot be always correct. Each and every person can make human mistakes. The justice is implemented by a person too and therefore like verdicts their decision should not be on rare occasions.”

“The judge has authority to evaluate the evidences and control how material law is applied. It is essential that we should also take various amendments to the Georgian Criminal Code into consideration; the liability for illegal verdict or passing some other kind of verdict when it has already be legally set aside.”

“Instead of the verdict of not guilty they have introduced plea-bargain instead. The money received from plea-bargains from fines is transferred to the state budget. The government is interested in collecting revenues for the national budget. As for someone who comes to a not guilty verdict, such a person will be considered an enemy of state interests.”

Ramin Papidze, the lawyer: “I have had many cases which must have finished with the verdict of not guilty. But the accused people, being afraid of going back to the prison, were to plead guilty and sign plea-bargain with the state prosecutor. Based on similar decision the rights of many people have been breached. Former public official pleaded guilty for having taken a bribe only because he did not expect the court to be fair.”

Geno Kartsivadze, a lawyer for the Young Lawyers Association’s Adjara Office: “I do not believe in perfect work of the investigation and prosecutor’s office. The fact that the court has not passed any verdict of not guilty exposes the level of independence of the judiciary system. If the judges had discussed cases independently, at least one verdict could have been passed in favor of the accused person.”

Tornike Ananidze, a lawyer for the Human Rights Center. ”It would be better if they remove the article on the verdict of not guilty from the legislation because the judges have not applied to it for a long time already. Mediations and evidences of the defendant side are not considered by the court at all.

Court investigation has lost its meaning while passing the verdict because the conclusion is already made based on the evidences of the prosecutor gained during the preliminary investigation. In fact, the court has already passed the verdict and the trial is a formal process.”

“Unfortunately, the reality is the following-either verdict of guilty or plea-bargains. When the case materials expose legal grounds to find the accused not guilty, the prosecutor and the court then start speaking about peal bargain that ends up in the verdict of guilty and mutual plea-bargain. Of course, there are instances when the accused is unable to afford to pay the bail amount.”

Edisher Makharadze, the attorney for the accused Filia, the last person who was found not guilty at the court, said the verdict was changed by the Appeal Court and Judge Zurab Surmanidze was “punished”- he was moved to Keda District Court from the Batumi City Court for having passed the verdict of not guilty. “It was because of not reinstating a fair verdict that the judge disagreed with the initial verdict,” said the lawyer.