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Mortal Prisoners Were Sent to Prison for 7 and 11 Years

October 27, 2009

Shorena Kakabadze, Kutaisi

The scandalous trial at Kutaisi Prison N 2 where the judge had to announce the final verdict on the hunger-striker prisoners ended in noise and astonishment. The justice sent accused Giorgi Zirakadze and Giorgi Gorgodze to prison for seven and eleven years relatively. The court decided to hold the trial in Kutaisi prison after the prisoners could not go to the court as they felt weak because of hunger-strike.

Last month, two prisoners fought the injustice in Kutaisi Prison N 2 with most severe forms of protest. Giorgi Gorgodze and Giorgi Zirakadze sewed up their mouths and promised their relatives to stop protest after they are found not guilty.

Yesterday the trial lasted almost all day long and ended late in the evening in very tense situation. Before final verdict was announced, the relatives of the prisoners started shouting because Giorgi Zirakadze felt very bad. He fell of the chair several times because of weakness and family members started shouting. The judge dismissed the relatives from the room.

“They were sure that prosecutor and the court will compromise and consider their health conditions (these people had been on hunger-strike for two months). Unfortunately, it did not happen like that. The court obeyed the prosecutor’s office and acted according to their directives. The situation was terrible. The prisoners were half-dead. Giorgi Gorgodze, who has got swollen because of hunger-strike and illness, was taking care of Giorgi Zirakadze at the hearing. He is very weak and fell of the chair several times. The latter has terrible smell in the mouth. The secretary was protecting his nose with hand during the entire process. Despite all this, the judge passed “extraordinary” verdict: Zirakadze was sent to prison for 7 years and Gorgodze for 11 years,” said attorney Pikria Tsertsvadze.

The attorney said Bagdati district prosecutor Mamuka Chubinidze, who attended the trial, gave very groundless replies to the questions of the attorney. Furthermore, he was eager to finish the trial as soon as possible.

“The prosecutor said they could sign plea-bargain if the victim had stopped complaining. However, the latter said if those boys had not committed crime, the law enforcement officers had to find real robbers. This is the point. Where the Bagdati police department and prosecutor’s office will find different robbers? They will have to work for that. And why should they bother themselves when they have found alternative criminals,” said Pikria Tsertsvadze.

The attorney recalls first days of prisoners’ protest when they sewed up mouths and announced dry hunger-strike. She underscored the attitude of various institutions that followed her petitions. On the fifth day of the hunger-strike Tsertsvadze petitioned to the president’s administration, parliament, public defender and prosecutor general’s office and reported them about unbearable conditions of the prisoners. The reply was beyond her expectation. “If person can be justified after he sews up mouth and hunger-strike then every prisoner will do it,” it was context of the replies from the abovementioned institutions. “Only Public Defender’s office got concerned about their situation and visited the prisoners in the custody,” said the attorney.

In several days the accused will be handed in verdicts. The attorney has already decided to appeal against the court decision. “I did not have illusion that the trial would have different result... but it is not finish. If it is necessary we will appeal to Strasbourg Court too. I am worried about the health conditions of these boys and attitude of the judiciary system and state towards them.”

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