A Special Commission will Re-examine the Lists of Chechen Refugees

A Special Commission will Re-examine the Lists of Chechen Refugees

Tbilisi.02.27.05.Media News. Sozar Subari, Georgian Public Defender, responded to the request of Chechen refugees  to visit the Pankisi Gorge in order to better understand their situation.  The Public Defender was joined by Eter Astamirova, Minister of Refugees and Settlement in her visit there.
Subari met with Chechen refugees and listened to their complaints. The refugees believe that as a result of their annual census,  the Ministry of Refugees and Settlement has illegally deprived them of  refugee status and has consequently left them without benefits. The Chechen refugees say that their illegal deprivation of refugee status is due to corruption reigning in the Ministry and its facilities.

According to Subari, a special commission will be established in order to re-examine the existing lists of Chechen refugees.

“I do not have any doubts regarding the correctness of the activities of the Ministry of Refugees and Settlement; however, the commission will look through the existing lists”, stated Subari.

The Public Defender’s visit to Pankisi comes as a response to complaints made by 80 Chechen refugees several days earlier because the Ministry of Refugees and Settlement did not grant them refugee status while conducting a census in the Pankisi Gorge. Generally,.those who are officially recognized as Chechen refugees in  Georgia receive a benefit of 14 GEL from the Georgian Government,  humanitarian aid from international organizations and are able to attend a special  Russian school open for Chechen refugees living in Pankisi.