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After Year-Long Torture, Ingilo Population Appealed to the Court

January 16, 2007

Last week, Ingilos from the village of Samtatskaro in the Dedoflistskaro District appealed to the district court. They protest the locked Samtatskaro Bridge linking Georgia and Azerbaijan. Since the bridge was locked, their suit stated, they have not been able to travel to Azerbaijan. Besides that, their right to free belief is also restricted, which is granted by the constitution.

The Herrs, who live in the village, cannot contact their relatives who live in Saingilo (a district in Azerbaijan where ethnic Georgians live). Some of their attempts on Easter Day and on St George’s Day to go to the St. George Church in Saingilo ended in failure. They held peaceful demonstrations which were dispersed. Demonstrators are still being threatened in various ways. However, they have appealed to the court to protect their rights.

The villagers’ suit is enclosed with letters they have received from the financial police, frontier police, custom department and other state establishments. According to these letters, there are no legal or administrative reports on the basis of which the bridge could have been locked. The accused are: Dedoflistskaro Tskalkanali Ltd” (water system department in the district), the custom department, frontier police and financial police departments. Lia Khuroshvili, lawyer for the Human Rights Center, defends Ingilos’ interests at the court.

Gela Mtivlishvili, kakheti

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