OSCE PA human rights Chair stresses need for equal justice in Georgia

COPENHAGEN, 18 August 2014 – In a phone call today with Victor Dolidze, the Acting Head of the Georgian Delegation to the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, the Chair of the Assembly’s human rights committee, Isabel Santos, underlined the importance of prosecutors adhering to principles of political neutrality, independence and the rule of law.

A court in Georgia recently issued an arrest warrant for former president Mikheil Saakashvili in relation to abuse of power charges that his supporters say are politically motivated. A number of former officials have been arrested on charges such as abuse of power and corruption since Saakashvili's UNM party was defeated in an election by the Georgian Dream coalition two years ago.

“Justice cannot be selective – a crime must be investigated, and the investigation must be allowed to proceed based on the facts of the case. There can be no exceptions to this for former high-level officials,” said Santos (MP, Portugal). “Given the context of the situation in Georgia, it is incumbent upon the Georgian Prosecutor’s Office and all judicial authorities to proceed with these politically sensitive cases with the utmost transparency. Anything else will inevitably lead to allegations of political motivation.”

Santos reminded Dolidze of the Assembly’s 2013 Istanbul Declaration which called upon “the Government of Georgia to refrain from the application of selective justice” and expressed concern over the then pre-trial detention of Vano Merabishvili, former Prime Minister of Georgia. The Assembly also welcomed the first ever peaceful electoral change of power in the country.

In February 2014 a Tbilisi City Court sentenced Merabishvili to four years and six months in jail; nine months spent by Merabishvili in pre-trial detention prior to the verdict was included in the sentence.

“The legal process needs to comply with Georgia's proclaimed commitment to democracy and European values,” Santos said. “These trials must proceed in a way that they do not give rise to concerns about the possible use of state institutions for partisan purposes.”

Dolidze told Santos that the authorities in Georgia welcomed international monitoring of the trials.