Georgian Public Defender Demands that Journalist’s Rights Be Reinstated

The Public Defender recommended to the head of Lagodekhi District Division of Kakheti Regional Main Division of the Ministry of Internal Affairs that the rights of Gela Mtivlishvili, a journalist be restored. 

Gela Mtivlishvili addressed the Lagodekhi Police Department on June 20, 2008 and demanded to receive materials concerning the Giorgi Gvelukashvili’s murder case. It must be noted that the criminal case on the murder of Gvelukashvili has already been suspended.
Lagodekhi District Division of MIA rejected Gela Mtivlishvili’s demand based on the allegation that “he was neither an accused, nor the victim or the attorney” – thus not a party to the case.

The Public Defender considers that the Lagodekhi District Division’s answer was baseless and violated the journalist’s Constitutional protected right for freedom of information. 

As the criminal case on the murder of Giorgi Gvelukashvili has been suspended, no operative-investigative and procedural activities are carried out at the present moment. Based on this fact and under the requirement of the law the case materials must be kept in the permanent file of the Lagodekhi District Division. The administrative department of Lagodekhi MI District Division is responsible for the storage of such documents. Consequently, these kinds of documents are considered as public information. Rejection on granting public information is against the law. As the Lagodekhi District Division is the administrative body apart from law enforcing body it must grant public information and fulfill other administrative functions.

It is admissible to limit access to the criminal case materials only when the data on operative-investigative activities is indicated in it. According to Part I of Article 5 of the Law of Georgia on Operative and Investigative Activities “the operative-investigative activities are strictly clandestine. Only the people prescribed by this law are able to be provided the data, documents and sources on this kind of activity after having undergone certain procedures.”
Has without justification limited the Constitutional rights of Gela Mtivlishvili, a journalist for having free access to the information, which contradicts the Georgian legislation because the individual administrative-legal act of rejection lacks legal grounds and contradicts the Georgian legislation.

The Public Defender recommended to Malkhaz Shubitidze, the head of Lagodekhi District Division of Kakheti Regional Main Division of the MIA to grant the materials from Gvelukashvili’s criminal case based on the General Administrative Code of Georgia.

Source: www.ombudsman.ge