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Government Abandons Citizens

May 27, 2005

Government Abandons Citizens

After returning to their home country, the Georgian women suspected to have been involved in trafficking and detained in Finland were not provided with protection by the government. These women said that their reputations were ruined, they were abused and humiliated, they lost money, but despite all these facts, nothing was done for their rehabilitation or for restoring their rights.

One of the main functions of Georgia, as of any other country, is to defend its own citizens both inside and outside of the country. However, the government of Georgia not only refused to fulfill its obligation to protect the women detained in Finland, but also aggravated their condition.

The matter is related to the citizens of Georgia who were detained on the border of Finland in March and accused of being involved in trafficking.  The tour bus, which held 48 women and 4 men - the leaders of the group, an interpreter and two drivers, was stopped at the Vaalim station on the border of Finland, on the basis of a doubt that the travelers were involved in trafficking. The men were interrogated at the National Bureau of Investigation, because they were suspected in organizing trafficking and entering the country illegally. The women were not suspected in any criminal activities and until determining the cause of their trip they were taken to a refugee camp in Joutsen.  The head of the group said that they were going to travel from central Europe to Italy and Greece, and then return to Georgia through Turkey.

After several hours of their detention, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia made an official statement that confirmed the doubts declared by the Finnish Officials, thus deteriorating the state of the detained people.

According to the Public Defender Sozar Subar, the women were in very bad circumstances because they were interrogated by representatives of the Interior Ministry. During these interrogations the women were deprived of elementary conditions, they did not have chairs to sit in, the windows were closed, and because of the lack of air they were fainting.  According to the lawyer of the victims, the women were also asked humiliating questions.

All charges against the head of the group and others were dismissed and the charge of trafficking was ruled out, because the women had all necessary legal documentation for entering Finland. But despite this, they were returned to Georgia and besides undergoing humiliation they lost large sums of money.

It is important to mention about the Georgian mentality and stereotypes that exist in its society, because the theme of prostitution is taboo in Georgia and any suspicion of involvement in this business ruins the reputation of the family. After returning home, the detained women encountered a lot of problems from the side of their families. According to the information of the electronic paper Helsinginsanomat, when one of the women, N. P., called her husband from the airport, he told her not to come home because he did not need a wife engaged in prostitution in Finland. As a result N. P. has undergone severe stress and has had to apply to a psychiatrist.

The members of the group also mentioned while giving interviews to journalists, the Finnish officials made them sign interrogation protocols.  The interrogations were conducted without the attendance of lawyers or interpreters and the interrogation itself was conducted in Russian, despite the fact that some of the Georgians did not know Russian.

Human Rights Information and Documentation Center applied to the head of the Press Service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia and to other competent officials for information about the activities of the Georgian government. However, our efforts to get any comments were in unproductive because of the incompetence the officials and their lack of time.

The deputy of the Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights, Lali Phaphiashvili told HRIDC that “negotiations are underway with the Finnish Ombudsman to make the Finnish officials to apologize to the detained people, as they have practically [but not officially] already done. Also talks are being led on providing reimbursements to the victims, but this is not an easy process and it needs time.”


Nino Bestavashvili

 

 

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