Public Defender Requests To Set Up Investigation Commission within Parliament

Sozar Subari

Georgian Public Defender petitioned to Davit Bakradze, chairperson of the Georgian Parliament and requested to establish parliamentary commission to investigate the case on secret meeting on November 4, 2007.

Reportedly, on December 30, 2008, Public Defender provided the parliament with the information about the meeting organized by the Minister of Internal Affairs of Georgia on November 4, 2007 while he was making his annual report to the Georgian Parliament. According to Sozar Subari, the public defender, the dispersal of peaceful demonstration on November 7, 2007 was planned during that meeting.
The Georgian ombudsman suggested the parliament to establish temporary commission to investigate the fact and stated that he could provide the commission with all evidence he had.

According to public defender’s information, On November 4, 2007, on Sunday, at 9:00 pm a meeting was organized in the office of Vano Merabishvili. Many high-ranking officials attended the meeting. I can name only several of them: Vano Merabishvili, Minister of Internal Affairs, Zurab Adeishvili, former Prosecutor Genera, Davit Kezerashvili, former Defense Minister and Data Akhalaia, former head of the Constitutional Security Department (the latter did not occupy any positions at that time).

Vano Merabishvili informed the attendants the tactics of the fight against opposition and demonstrators.  More precisely, they should have drawn up lists of demonstrators and none of them should have remained unbeaten.  He reported to the officials that Constitutional Security Department had already started realization of the plan but they should have increased the scale of dispersal, and even a greater number of people should have been beaten than were. Demonstrators were to be beaten in the kidneys and abdomen. However in particular cases (he smiled) in the face too. The Minister of Internal Affairs suggested the others to plant narcotics on those demonstrators who looked rather suspicious. As for businessmen who supported the opposition, Davit Kezerashvili was ordered to take care of them.

The minister explained his plans of beating as follows: “active demonstrators will start resisting us more actively, particularly those who arrived from the regions. But in Georgian, a man who has been beaten is disgraced and loses face before others.” This was the motive for what activists of the opposition parties and people discontent with governmental police should have been beaten.

Next day the office of Georgian public defender released information that ombudsman had learned about the secret meeting several hours later but could not make loud statements about it until now. There were several reasons for his silence. One of the main factors was absence of a governmental official whom Sozar Subari could apply to with the request to investigate the case. Exactly those people, who were in charge of investigating the dispersal of demonstrators, had planned the November 7, 2007 in Tbilisi. Besides that, Subari thinks that on those days, ten thousands of people were standing in the street and spreading of this information might result into unmanageable situation. In parallel to it, Pubic Defender was responsible to guarantee the security of the source of information.
Public Defender informed several European diplomats about the meeting. They several times asked the ombudsman when he intended to announce the information.

After being informed Public Defender’s office intensified its monitoring on demonstrations. He postponed his visit to abroad. On November 7 2007, Sozar Subari and his colleagues also became victims of dispersal when special units of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Ministries of Justice and Defense, riot policemen dispersed peaceful demonstrators.

Since then, Sozar Subari published several reports about the dispersal of peaceful demonstration on November 7 2007 and requested to start investigation on the harassment of opposition members.  He sent open letter to Georgian president; spoke about the dispersal in his report to the parliament. Office of the Public Defender studied and investigated several cases and sent materials to the Minister of the Internal Affairs and Prosecutor General’s office; however, as it was predicted, nothing was done.

Public Defender considers that the meeting on November 4 2007 in the office of Vano Merabishvili is a particular case that caused violation of human rights and basic freedoms. Consequently, the accident should be thoroughly investigated. Beating was declared to be a policy against opponents; it was planned and was implemented too. It is the reason why people discontent with the governmental policy were beaten before and after November 4 2007. Thus, several tens of similar cases are not investigated for the same reason.  

This case should be investigated by temporary investigation commission of the parliament because no other governmental institution or commission has same authorities that are necessary to study and investigate the case thoroughly.

Note: temporary investigation commission enjoys same authorities and guarantees that other institutions do not have. For example: if fraudulent testimony is given to temporary investigation commission a person will be charged under the criminal law; based on the request of the temporary investigation commission a person shall appear to the session; based on the request of the temporary investigation commission state institutions, high ranking officials, legal and physical entities are obliged to provide necessary conclusions to the investigation commission for further analysis. Investigation commission is authorized to study criminal case materials at the stage of preliminary investigation based on the permission of the prosecutor in chief.

Temporary investigation commission has other authorities that are envisaged under Article 63 and 64 of the Regalement of Georgian Parliament.

Georgian Public Defender petitioned to the Georgian parliament to establish the commission based on the Article 21-subparagraph “j” of the Georgian Organic Law on Public Defender. The commission will study the abovementioned fact and the public defender is ready to provide the commission with all necessary documents.