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Eka Beselia: Accidental Murders, Coincidence or Not?

March 5, 2008
Police Dictatorship in Georgia!
Nona Suvariani, Tbilisi

The issue of political prisoners has become a hot issue since the Rose Revolution. The current relationship between the government and the opposition has reached a new low in the shadow of “deaths of convenience”, natural or otherwise. Georgian society has been talking openly about political murders in the aftermath of the untimely and highly opportune death of Badri Patarkatsishvili. The Human Rights Center asked several questions to Eka Beselia, an attorney representing Irakli Okruashvili, the now tarnished and defamed former Defense Minister.

Journalist: Some people think that Badri Patarkatsishvili was killed for political reasons. Georgians have openly discussed political murders following the deaths of Zurab Zhvania, former Prime Minister, Guram Sharadze, political activist and Giorgi Sanaia, Rustavi2 journalist.  What is your take on such deaths, are politically related murders part of the Georgian landscape and under what circumstances?

Eka Beselia: As a lawyer I don’t want to comment on the death of Badri Patarkatsishvili until British authorities have completed their investigation.  However, from the perspective of a politician, I can say that it was a political murder. The Georgian government put Patarkatsishvili in a very difficult condition. He was charged with the betrayal of his homeland and that is the most serious any citizen can face.  The films produced with Soviet methods and the serious allegations that he was working against Georgia impacted him. The murders that you have mentioned did not coincide with the important political events by happenstance. Coincidence or no, scandalized murders or the death of celebrities seems to always accompany an important political event. Often a murder is soon followed by important political activities. Nowadays, when important political events are being developed in the country (I mean the protest wave of United National Movement), the government becomes very frightened. The government then reverts to using unacceptable measures against its opponents. The machine of repressive is working to destroy politically unfavorable people, and that means to literally destroy. The situation surrounding the death of Badri Patarkatsishvili did not come as a surprise. I do not know if Special Forces have any connection with his death, but I can deliberately say that Batarkatsishvili’s death is a part of a larger political game. We shall find out very soon what political processes it will cause, but I can see even today that Patarkatsishvili’s death has raised the awareness of Georgian society and they are now protesting. 

J.: The government and the opposition argue about political prisoners. What is your opinion about this issue, what are the conditions face political prisoners in Georgia?

E.B.: There are many political prisoners in Georgian prisons, much more then we indicated in the list that was submitted to the government. Many political prisoners were not placed on the list for various reasons. Take for instance, Giorgi Kupreishvili, who was one of the first persons imprisoned prison related to the events of Adjara (the ousting of the regime of Aslan Abashidze, former strongman). At first the government wanted to cooperate with him. However, when was asked to make public statement on television that he supported the central government. Kupreishvili refused to make this kind of statements on air. Nonetheless, he confirmed that he officially supported the central government and he was always willing and able to serve his country. He was subsequently arrested on the order of the President and high ranking Georgian officials, and in spite of the fact that he had been promised immunity. He was not placed on the initial list of political prisoners as we wanted to stress the names of the people who were detained after September 25 and during the events of November 7. Later several people were added to the list. However, it still is not complete. I hope that we will achieve our objective and that all political prisoners be freed.

The purpose of detaining these people was to shut them up and keep them separate from society. The government wanted to keep the number of its opponents to a minimum. It has become easier for the government to reach its goals, and the main goal to cling on to power at any price.

J.: Irakli Okruashvili’s extradition is still unresolved. If the French court decides in favor of Okruashvili and he is not extradited to Georgia, what then will be his plans for the future? Does he have plans to return to Georgia?

E.B: As long as Mikhail Saakashvili is the President of Georgia, Irakli Okruashvili is denied the option of legally returning to Georgian and reengaging in political life. The option of returning is blocked with all possible means. The government has effectively used the Office of Prosecutor General and the legal system against him. Irakli Okruashvili is being criminally persecuted and there is a standing order to arrest him. The day he enters the country, he will be arrested on the spot. Saakashvili will not stop persecuting Okruashvili until he stops political activities and stops fighting back.

Let’s see what the French court will decide. I hope its decision will be a fair one. The court is much more independent there and Okruashvili’s release proves that fact. In Georgia it would be difficult to achieve the same outcome by legal methods. If Okruashvili receives political asylum and stays in France, Saakashvili will not allow him to return to Georgia. I hope we will be able to gain a majority as a result of parliamentary election of 2008. Such an outcome will influence the overall situation facing the country. Should things turn out this way then Irakli Okruashvili will have the opportunity to return to Georgia and to openly continue with his political activities.

J: Has the question about your political office been settled? Is it still being occupied and what negotiations are you conducting with the Prosecutor’s Office?

E.B. The question of the office is the most interesting one. The Prosecutor General’s Office is suppose react to the petitions, suits, appeals, etc that are allowed under the constitution. However, they are not following their rules in living up to their responsibilities. It is if they are incapable hearing and seeing anything. We have appealed to Eka Tkeshelashvili, the Prosecutor General with our legal complaints. It is clear that our political party and its owners are not allowed into its own office. The office has eleven owners and Okruashvili is just one of them. They have taken over the property of Okruashvili and others and it is the eleventh part of the total accommodation that adds up to just one small room and a lavatory. There is one topic that attracts our attention. The sequestration of the property means that the owner is deprived of the right to sell it, aside from not being able to make use of it.  Others are owners too and they do not have the right to benefit from their property.

A special unit is deployed in the building. We have appealed to the Prosecutor’s Office regarding the illegal presence of armed units in the office. What justification do they have to be deployed there? Who has allowed them to be there in the first place? The law enforcers claim that they are following orders but they could not explain whose order they are executing and cannot provide corresponding document in support of it. They say they have received verbal order and send us to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and to talk to Vano Merabishvili, Minister of Internal Affairs. We have nothing to do with the Minister. He has no legal right to deploy his units in the office of a political party. The situation is completely absurd. They are infringing upon our property rights. The Public Defender has also petitioned to the Prosecutor’s Office. However, all appeals and petitions are not addressed. In parallel to similar situation the government calls us to conduct a productive dialogue. I still intend to appeal to all international organizations, including the Public Defender and all appropriate bodies that are connected in someway to this office. We have to appeal to the legal system as well.

J: You have been working as an attorney for many years already. How do you think in which field are human rights more violated in Georgia?

E.B. The most urgent is that people are deprived of rights to a fair and independent judiciary. I now clear that people have no illusions that they will be able to achieve justice from the system. The judiciary is supposed to be the body that maintains a balance between society and out of control anarchical processes.  As soon as the court loses that particular function the prosecutor’s office starts to supervise the court decisions; the situation reflects all current political processes.

Another alarming topic is the violation of voting procedures. We do not have the right to elect our own government; the previous rigged elections demonstrate it.

I should mention that 37 young people were murdered during previous years. Thus, there is a police dictatorship in Georgia and it is now a police state. The responsible criminals have never been punished. Public officials have not been punished for the violent dispersal of on November 7 2007. I think the main way out from the situation is peaceful resignation of the current government.

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