Statement of the Non-Governmental Organizations – We Request Immediate Release of the Detained Lawyer

Georgian non-governmental organizations are concerned about the detention of the lawyer Ramin Papidze in the Batumi City Court.

On July 28, Ramin Papidze represented the suspected people for the blockade of the Adjara TV-Company during the protest demonstration on May 21 at the Batumi City Court. At the trial, Papidze represented five out of seven accused. Judge Vera Dolidze initially fined him with 200 GEL and after the lawyer protested it, the judge expelled him out of the courtroom. The bailiffs took the lawyer out and outside the hall they started to physically abuse Papidze as he alleges. On the same evening, chairperson of the Batumi City Court Temur Gogokhia scheduled administrative hearing on the incident and sentenced Papidze to 10-day administrative imprisonment.

We think when imposing the administrative imprisonment on Ramin Papidze, Chairman of the Batumi City Court Temur Gogokhia did not completely study the case circumstances. He did not hear the statements of the witnesses and relied only on the statements of the court bailiffs who represented the opposite side in the trial.

It is noteworthy that before that Judge Vera Dolidze fined lawyer Ramin Papidze several times during the court hearings on the participants of the May 21 protest demonstrations for various reasons. The total amount of the imposed fine is 3 100 GEL.

On the day of detention, Ramin Papidze started dry hunger-strike and still continues it.

We appeal to international organizations and diplomatic corps accredited in Georgia to get interested in this case and study the fairness of the court judgment, and to monitor the lawyer’s rights during the hunger-strike.

We believe lawyer Ramin Papidze is persecuted by the government because he defended the political opponents of the authority. The impartial judgment of the Batumi City Court proves our assumptions.

We request immediate release of the lawyer and impartial investigation of the case.

Human Rights Center
Association “Justice and Freedom”
Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association
Adjara Union of Independent Experts
Civil Society for Human Rights
Network of Caucasus Women
Our Generation
Healthy World
Civil Defender
Coalition for Civil Development
Article 42 of Constitution
Center for Migrant's Protection and Integration