Grandmother Loses Grandchild- Will Grandmother Find Justice?

Citizen Valentine Onishenko addressed the Kutaisi office of the Human Rights Centre. Ever since her daughter’s death, over a year ago, she has been trying to get her little granddaughter Mariam back. Her godmother’s mother, Elene Tukvadze, took the child away on the day of her mother’s funeral.

“By that time I was in great trouble, my daughter had died and when I entered into the hall of funeral reception, Elene Tukvadze told me that I could not care for the child and offered to take Mariam home so she could take care of her. When Mariam woke up she would bring her to me again. At first I did not want the child to go with her but my neighbors forced me to change my mind. So I let her take the child, because I was under the impression she would bring Mariam back to me in the evening. The next day I went to them myself and wanted to see my grandchild but they hid her from me.”- says Valentine Onishenko.

In accordance with the decision made by Lado Pataridze, the head of the Kutaisi Educational Resource Centre, Valentine Onishenko became the legal guardian of Mariam Onishenko. This however did not cause Elene Tukvadze to return the child to the legal guardian. Moreover, on December 27, 2006, the son of Elene Tukvadze, Aleksandre Kuznecov, petitioned the Georgian Ministry of Justice and the Kutaisi branch of the Civil Registry for a certificate of paternity. They received this certificate without the ascertainment of paternity. After, they have illegally changed the surname of the child on the birth-certificate from Onishenko to Kuznecov.

As it turns out, the main reason for taking the child away from the legal guardian is that Aleksandre Kuznecov claims to have paternal rights, because he had sexual relations with Elene Onishenko before Mariam’s birth. But Valentine Onishenko categorically denies that her granddaughter is his child.

“It is impossible, Kuznecov is not the father of my grandchild. Elene Tukvadze and her son lie because Aleksandre Kuznecov cannot have children with his wife.”-states Valentine Onishenko.

Since Valentine Onishenko heard about the intentions of Aleksandre Kuznecov to illegally take her grandchild abroad, she sought legal action. She required from the court to annul the false birth certificate of the child which was illegally drawn up by the Passport Service of the Civil Registry. The Kutaisi Civil Court did not satisfy this claim, but the Court of Appeal decided to annul the document on July 24, 2007.

Now, the Supreme Court deals with the case. Aleksandre Onishenko petitioned the Kutaisi Civil Court to name him as the father of child. Again, Judge Anna Gelekva is dealing with that case. Previously, she did not satisfy Valentine Onishenko’s application to annul the false birth certificate. In the case before the Supreme Court, Valentine Onishenko is the defendant. She does not trust Judge Anna Gelekva and suspects that this was planned beforehand and they will decide in her favor. Therefore she demands that Judge Anna Gelekva is removed from this case.

“The mother of Aleksandre Kuznecov, Elene Tukvadze, is a former investigator and her daughter, my grandchild’s godmother, is a lawyer as well. So they have many friends in this circle and that is why they try to illegally oppress me. I do not want to give my daughter’s child to them. When they took Mariam away from me I went to their house and watched my grandchild from their fence. Nobody allowed me to meet her. And even now, while the case is being discussed in court, they do not grant me an opportunity to see Mariam. I do not know how she feels and it depresses me to think about it. They illegally took Mariam away from me. I know I am not rich, but I can manage to raise my grandchild,”-declares Valentine Onishenko.

The Kutaisi office of the Human Rights Centre tried several times to reach the family of Kuznecov, but in vain. So we cannot find out why they took the child away from her grandmother and why do not allow her to see Mariam. The only thing we know from the case materials is that Aleksandre Kuznecov insists the court to name him as the father of child.

From the moment Valentine Onishenko approached the Human Rights Centre, our lawyer Nino Kankava helped her with this case. Nino Kankava considers that the rights of Valentine Onishenko and her grandchild have been violated:

“If we consider that Valentine Onishenko was officially appointed the legal guardian from September 1, 2006 onwards, Elene Tukvadze did not have any right to take the child away from her. However, Elene Tukvadze is still protected by law enforcement structures, since she is a former investigator. We have strong reasons to suspect this, because the Prosecutor’s Office always ignores the statements of Valentine Onishenko. Elene Tukvadze made an illegal deal with the employees of the Civil Registry and received the false birth certificate which grants paternal rights to her son, while the legal guardian and close relative of the child does not have any right to see her grandchild. So, Valentine Tukvadze’s and her grandchild’s rights are being violated.”

The case will be continued before the Supreme Court. The proceedings in the Kutaisi Court have not yet begun. Valentine Onishenko worries and supposes that by stalling the other side separates her from the child, who is only 5 years old. There is a good chances the child will forget about her grandmother.

Lela Khidasheli, Kutaisi