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Imprisonment of Khatuna Charaeva – One More Shameful Act of Primitive Georgian Politics

March 31, 2010

Mari Otarashvili

“If Khatuna Charaeva had really committed the crime, she would not have been released,” said conflict expert Paata Zakareishvili in his interview with the humanrights.ge. He added that the ethnic Ossetian woman was arbitrarily detained because of primitive and shameful Georgian politics.

On March 29, Khatuna Charaeva from Akhalgori was released by the judge under conditional sentence at the first trial on the criminal case launched against her. However, free Charaeva disappeared for several hours. Later, it was found out that she sat into a car and was sent to Tskhinvali. However, nobody informed her attorney or relatives about it.

Georgian law enforcement officers detained Khatuna Charaeva on December 19, 2009 for spreading false money. The relatives of Charaeva say that the accusation was fabricated and they think it was political persecution and nothing more. De-facto administration of Akhalgori district and most of the local population think the same. They say, 30 000 USD were planted on Charaeva at the auto-station Didube, Tbilisi by the policemen. It is noteworthy that the attorney could not visit Charaeva in the custody during one month after the detention. Later, the case was declared Griffith Secret and the relatives did not have information where the detainee was for a long time.

On March 29, the trial started 20 minutes earlier than it was scheduled (2:00 pm). The hearing was closed and only the judge, the prosecutor, the attorneys and the accused attended it. The only relative – brother-in-law of the detainee Merab Charaev was waiting for the woman in the corridor.

About one hour later, 5 men in civil clothes came and stood in front of the trial-room (#11) and waited for the end of the hearing. Prosecutor Kochlamazashvili left the room for some time and took one of the strangers who arrived; he apparently gave some directions to him. At about 5:00 the door opened and that meant that everybody could attend the hearing. Merab Charaev entered. The five men stayed outside. The judge read the verdict; 5-year-imprisonment of Charaeva was changed into suspended sentence and the woman was told that she could leave the room as a free person. Charaeva left the room from the inside door (usually accused are led into the hall through that door).  

Attorneys Gagi Mosiashvili and Imeda Karkashadze congratulated Merab Charaeva for the freedom of the relative. Several seconds after the verdict was announced, Gagi Mosiashvili inquired about the client but could not find her anywhere. Initially, he was told that  policemen were talking with Charaeva in the room and she would be free soon. Later it was found out that Khatuna Charaeva was taken out of the City Court building. Attorney Gagi Mosiashvili was not aware where and why she was taken away. He said that the disappearance of the released prisoner is a crime and it contradicts judiciary norms.

Gagi Mosiashilvi, lawyer of the Georgian Young Lawyers Association: “Plea-bargain was signed between the prosecutor and the accused which aimed to annul the accusation against the accused. The suspended sentence means to set the accused free from the court room. Unfortunately, it did not happen and it is completely unclear where Charaeva is taken to. The Bailiff Service released the prisoner but on the other hand, bailiffs took her out of the court room; after that nobody has seen her. It is a violation of the law and is beyond the frames of all legal norms. I cannot even assume where this person can be. Since she was released from the court room (it is written in the verdict), she could not be sent back to the prison. Preliminary imprisonment was canceled by the verdict.”

Merab Charaev, who was ready to take his sister-in-law home, was looking at the confused attorneys who were trying to get some information about Charaeva. Only at 5:00 pm Merab Charaev and Gagi Mosiashvili left the city court building; (second attorney Imeda Karkashadze left the court earlier).

Later, at about 8:21pm the attorney learned that Khatuna Charaeva was sent to Tskhinvali.

The humanrights.ge got in touch with Merab Charaev.

Merab Charaev: “I have not seen Khatuna. As I have learned, she was taken to Tskhinvali. When they kidnapped her before us soon after the trial, they took her to Tskhinvali. I have not talked with Khatuna; her children and husband (my brother) talked with me; they said she is in Tskhinvali with them. I do not know why she was taken directly to Tskhinvali.”

On March 30, it was finally cleared up that Georgian sign deported Khatuna Charaeva to Tskhinvali. Head of Shida Kartli regional police department Jugheli reported that the Georgian side deported 6 Ossetian citizens to the de-facto authority of Tskhinvali; it was their kind will. Those people were arrested for various charges. On the same day, Tskhinvali based news agencies reported that Tbilisi released 3 instead of 6 prisoners. They did not have information about the other three and where they disappeared.

As it was cleared up, the Georgian side deported the other three prisoners to Tskhinvali one day later. “Six people were released; three of them were deported on March 29, and the other three were sent to Tskhinvali on March 30. All of them were released based on the court decision,” reported Vova Jugheli to the Interpressnews.

According to Jugheli, on March 30, resident of North Ossetia Zaurbek Khestanov, resident of Nijegorod Oblast, Temur Amzoe, and citizen of the so-called South Ossetia, resident of the village of Artsevi Goneri Toroshelidze were deported to the Ossetian side near the village Ergneti on March 30; on March 29 the Georgian side released Genadi Pliev from Tskhinvali, Vadime Tadtaev from the village of Didmukha and Khatuna Charaeva from Akhalgori.

Conflict expert Paata Zakareishvili thinks that it is great chance that the Georgian law enforcement officers detained Charaeva for no reason.

Paata Zakareishvili: ‘Khatuna Charaeva “pleaded guilty” because she had no more way out. She was suggested to do it; otherwise they would not have released her from prison. If she were free, she could appeal against arbitrary detention. Thus, they made a deal – we will release you if you plead guilty! If Khatuna Charaeva had really committed the crime, they would not have released her. Why should a person who had false dollars be released? Freedom of such a person is completely groundless. Just the opposite, the government shall be responsible for releasing a person who is really guilty. Consequently, she had not committed the crime and made her to plead guilty in order to prevent her from the possibility to appeal against the arbitrary detention later. It is primitive Georgian politics which is very obvious for everyone.”

Zakareishvili thinks that it was the tribute of the Human Rights Commissioner of the Council of Europe, Thomas Hammarberg, to release Ossetian hostages by Georgian side. Experts of Hammarberg are in Tskhinvali and they are studying the cases of the missing people. Tskhinvali authority assessed the decision of the Georgian side as PR campaign – before the next round of Geneva Negotiations scheduled for March 30.

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