Human Rights Organizations Request to Stop Airing Advertisement Rolls about Tamaz Tamazashvili

Georgian human rights organizations – Solidarity with Illegal Prisoners, Public Movement “NO”, Charity Foundation for the Protection of Prisoners’ Rights, Association for the Defense of Civil and Political Rights protested violation of presumption of innocence by TV-Companies and spread statement.

Information Center of Kakheti published the full text of the statement:

“We, nongovernmental human rights organizations protest daily violation of innocence presumption of the political prisoner Tamaz Tamazashvili.

More precisely, we protest the video-rolls prepared by the government of Georgia which degrade honor and dignity of Tamaz Tamazashvili and breach the innocence presumption.

We decided to call upon the government of Georgia, international human rights and diplomatic organizations to pay attention to the following facts:

On October 11, 2011 so-called law enforcement officers groundlessly arrested police general Tamaz Tamazashvili on political motives. He was tried under Article 236 Part II of the Criminal Code of Georgia that envisages punishment for illegal possession-storage-carrying of weapon.

Tamaz Tamazashvili was declared political prisoner because the prosecutor could not provide valid evidence to prove Tamaz Tamazashvili’s guiltiness at the trial. Despite that, the court passed guilty-verdict.

It is also noteworthy that Tamaz Tamazashvili was arrested after Bidzina Ivanishvili made political statements. At that time, Tamazashvili’s son-in-law was president of Ivanishvili’s foundation Cartu. After his detention, governmental TV-channels started preparation of groundless, slander programs. Special Topic (of Imedi TV) alleged that Tamaz Tamazashvili assisted and participated in narco-trafficking, in kidnapping of people and cooperated with criminals deployed in Pankisi Valley. They connected many illegal activities of the so-called GAI (road inspection) in 1996-2001 with him. The TV-story created effect as if Tamaz Tamazashvili was the only criminal and participant of all illegal activities.

Any person, who is charged under criminal law, is declared innocent before his/her crime is proved by the court through all procedural guarantees envisaged by the law. Political prisoner Tamaz Tamazashvili is declared criminal and narco-trafficker in those video-rolls, human trafficker and author of financial machinations that no investigation has been conducted on those charges yet; neither prosecutor’s office has charged him for those crimes.

Tamaz Tamazashvili was awarded for military bravery; MIA has awarded him 45 times; most awards he has received for successfully conducted special operations and detention of more than hundred criminals, human-traffickers, narco-dealers in Kakheti region. Former Minister of Justice and currently President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili particularly thanked him for successful special operations. In 1996-2001 he was the only high-ranking official in police who publicly exposed the government in cooperation with narco-dealers and human-kidnappers on media sources.

Thus, it is evident that TV video-rolls breach the innocence presumption, guaranteed by the Constitution of Georgia and European Convention on Human Rights and Basic Freedoms with regard to Tamaz Tamazashvili.

We appeal to you to immediately stop and prohibit airing of video-rolls by TV-Channels which insult, degrade honor and dignity of Tamaz Tamazashvili and breach presumption of innocence.

Source: ICK