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Addendum to the report | Doc. 13588 Add. | 30 September 2014
The functioning of democratic institutions in Georgia
Committee on the Honouring of Obligations and Commitments by Member States of the Council of Europe (Monitoring Committee)
1. Introduction
1. The report on the functioning of democratic institutions
in Georgia was adopted by the Monitoring Committee on 24 June 2014.
During the debate in the committee we announced that, if needed,
we would present an addendum to the report at the opening of the
Autumn 2014 part-session to ensure that any relevant developments
in the country are reflected in the report and in the resolution
to be adopted by the Assembly.
2. Since the adoption of the report a number of developments
have taken place that are of relevance to the Assembly, in particular
the second round of the elections of mayors and gamgebeli on
12 July 2014, and the ongoing proceedings in the criminal cases
against former government members. We will outline below the developments
in respect of these two issues, as well as some general developments
in the political environment.
2. General developments
3. On 7 July 2014, Eduard Shevardnadze, former President
of Georgia and last foreign minister of the Soviet Union, widely
credited as one of the authors of the perestroika/glasnost policy,
died in Tbilisi at the age of 86. He was buried in a State funeral
in the presence of government members and several foreign dignitaries.
4. On 26 July 2014, after a heated exchange between the ruling
majority and the opposition, a reshuffled government under Prime
Minister Garibashvili was confirmed by the Georgian Parliament.
Five new ministers were appointed and two ministers were given new
responsibilities. Most notably, former Public Defender, Sozar Subari,
was moved from the post of Minister for the Penitentiary Services
to Minister for internally displaced persons and accommodation.
The post of Minister for the Penitentiary Services, which is a sensitive
position, following the prisoners’ abuse scandal that surfaced in
2012, was given to Giorgi Mgebrishvili, who had previously served
as head of the State security agency. The key ministries of defence,
justice, the interior and foreign affairs were not affected by the
government reshuffle.
5. The relationship between Prime Minister Garibashvili and President
Margvelashvili has become increasingly, and publicly, tense in the
last couple of months. The Prime Minister and the President publicly disagreed
about who should sign the Association Agreement with the European
Union and about who should represent the country at the United Nations
Climate Summit in New York. In addition, the Prime Minister publicly
criticised the President for the, in his view, unnecessary delay
in declassifying the spending records of former President Saakashvili,
and declined to participate in the Security Council meeting that
was organised at the initiative of the President.
6. Early in July, Thomas Hammarberg, European Union Special Advisor
for Legal and Constitutional Reform and Human Rights in Georgia,
published the report of his final mission to Georgia that took place
from 4 to 9 June 2014. His observations and findings coincide with
a number of the findings we presented in our report. In his report,
Mr Hammarberg welcomed the adoption of a Human Rights Strategy and
Action Plan, the increase of judicial independence, as well as the
separation of party and State interests in the election process. At
the same time, he expressed his concern about the vulnerability
of the judicial system to interference, as well as the lack of accountability
of, and institutional oversight over, the office of the Prosecutor
General. In addition, he noted that oversight over law-enforcement
structures remained problematic and emphasised the need for the
establishment of an independent complaints mechanism in this respect.
7. In July 2014, the Public Defender (Ombudsman) published his
annual human rights report. On 1 August the parliament, after a
heated debate, passed a resolution calling for the implementation
of the recommendations contained in his report. In this report, inter alia, the Public Defender
stressed the need for an independent complaints mechanism with regard
to the law-enforcement structures and called for cases of maltreatment
and deaths in the prison system to be properly investigated. In
addition, the Public Defender called upon the Ministry of the Interior
to fully and transparently investigate any reports of religious-based violence
against minorities.
8. On 10 September 2014, a pig’s head was nailed on the door
of a Muslim School in Kobuleti in Adjara. This action was strongly
condemned by the authorities. While we welcome the swift condemnation,
we wish to emphasise that this incident underscores the need for
continuing action by the authorities to protect the rights of religious
minorities and to foster their full acceptance and integration into
Georgian society.
9. The Georgian Dream–Democratic Georgia (GDDG) faction, which
is the leading party in the ruling majority coalition, sacked its
Deputy Speaker of the Parliament, Mr Murman Dumbadze, for his involvement
in the attempts by the GDDG faction in the Adjara parliament to
impeach the Head of the Adjara government. The attempts to impeach
the Head of the Adjara government were reportedly not sanctioned
by the national leadership of the GCCG, nor supported by any of
the other parties in the Georgian Dream coalition.
10. On 27 June 2014, Georgia signed an Association Agreement,
including a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (DCFTA)
with the European Union. This agreement was ratified by the Georgian Parliament
in an extraordinary session on 18 July 2014.
3. Second round of municipality elections
11. On 15 June 2014, local elections took place in Georgia.
In our report, we already reflected on the tense pre-electoral environment
and patterns of allegations that opposition candidates were put
under pressure to withdraw their candidatures. In the first round
of the elections, candidates proposed by the ruling Georgian Dream
coalition won the race for mayor and gamgebeli 
in four self-governing cities and
46 municipalities. These elections were observed by a delegation
of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council
of Europe, which welcomed the improved electoral climate and calm
and peaceful manner in which these elections were conducted. At
the same time, they expressed concern about the harsh rhetoric and sometimes
violent pre-election campaign, as well as the allegations of pressure
on, and intimidation of, opposition candidates.
in four self-governing cities and
46 municipalities. These elections were observed by a delegation
of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council
of Europe, which welcomed the improved electoral climate and calm
and peaceful manner in which these elections were conducted. At
the same time, they expressed concern about the harsh rhetoric and sometimes
violent pre-election campaign, as well as the allegations of pressure
on, and intimidation of, opposition candidates.12. The second round of the elections for mayors in eight self-governed
cities and gamgebelis in 12 municipalities
took place on 12 July 2014. All these races were won, with a comfortable
majority, by candidates proposed by the ruling Georgian Dream coalition.
After the second round, the ruling majority holds the mayor and gamgebeli positions
in all 71 municipalities and has a majority in the city council
in 66 of them, consolidating its dominant position in Georgian politics.
13. These elections were not observed by the Council of Europe
or the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).
However, the Embassies of the United Stated of America, the United
Kingdom and the Netherlands, who fielded an observation mission
for the second round of the municipality elections, issued a statement
in which they concluded that the election had taken place with only
minor irregularities, in a calm election environment, with the results
reflecting the competitive political landscape in Georgia. At the same
time, they noted that the legal proceedings against former Tbilisi
mayor and prominent United National Movement (UNM) leader, Gigi
Ugulava, had contributed to a tense pre-electoral environment.
14. One of the leading bishops of the Georgian Orthodox Church
reportedly called, during a sermon, on voters not to vote for UNM
candidates, in contradiction of the election law, which explicitly
forbids campaigning by religious groups.
15. On 2 July 2014, the Tbilisi court turned down a request of
the prosecution to seize the passport of former Tbilisi mayor Gigi
Ugulava, who was charged with several counts of misspending and
embezzlement of public funds. However, on 3 July 2014, the police
arrested Mr Ugulava at the airport when leaving the country for
a meeting in Ukraine, on new charges of money laundering. His arrest
took place despite the moratorium on prosecutions of former government
officials that was announced by Prime Minister Garibashvili on 14
April 2014. The arrest of Mr Ugulava, who was also the main campaign
manager of the United National Movement for the local elections,
considerably increased tensions in the pre-election environment.
We deeply regret the arrest of Mr Ugulava, and its timing, which
took place despite the moratorium. While not wanting to judge the merits
of the case against him, his arrest seems especially unnecessary
given the fact that Mr Ugulava, since originally being charged in
December 2013, left the country on several occasions but always
returned.
4. Prosecution of former government members
16. On 11 August 2014, the Court of Appeal upheld the
conviction of former Prime and Interior Minister Vano Merabishvili
for exceeding official powers in the break-up of the protest rallies
in Tbilisi on 26 May 2011. In addition to being charged in connection
to the murder of Sandro Girvliani, he was also charged, together
with former President Saakashvili, in relation to the attack on
the – then opposition – MP Valeri Gelashvili and for exceeding official
authority in relation to the breaking up of the anti-government
protests, and seizure of IMEDI-TV in 2007.
17. On 29 August 2014, former Parliamentary Speaker Bakradze was
questioned by the prosecution in relation to possible undeclared
financial assets, after copies of his bank statements were published
on the Internet. Mr Bakradze later clarified that these accounts
did not need to be declared as they were held in escrow for his
children. We have some questions with regard to the need to subpoena
Mr Bakradze for this issue, which could have easily been clarified
by other means. In addition, we urge the authorities to fully investigate
how bank statements belonging to Mr Bakradze and his family ended
up being published on the Internet in clear violation of his right
to privacy.
18. In a controversial development, the Prosecutor General announced,
on 28 July 2014, that he had filed criminal charges against former
President Saakashvili for exceeding official authority in breaking
up the anti-government protests in November 2007 and for the related
seizure of the IMEDI television station. The same charges were also
filed against former Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior
Vano Merabishvili, former Prosecutor General and Justice Minister
Zurab Adeishvili, former Defence Minister Davit Kezerashvili and former
Tbilisi Mayor Gigi Ugulava. On 2 August 2014, based on a motion
by the prosecution, the court, ordered pre-trial detention in absentia of Mr Saakashvili, who
is currently residing in the United States. On 5 August 2014, additional
criminal charges were filed against former President Saakashvili
in relation to the attack on the – then opposition – MP Valeri Gelashvili.
A number of International partners of Georgia expressed their concern
about the charges against former President Saakashvili and urged
the authorities to ensure that the prosecution and trials against
him were transparent, impartial, and without any possibility for
politically motivated justice. This is in line with our repeated
statements, also contained in the draft resolution, that any legal
proceedings against former government officials should be conducted
impartially, transparently and in full respect of the principles
of a fair trial, as enshrined in the European Convention on Human
Rights (ETS No. 5). The charges against
former President Saakashvili are serious and no one, including a
former President, should be above the law. However, without wanting
to pass judgment on the merits of the charges, we wish to emphasise
that especially in a charged political environment such as in Georgia,
all necessary steps should be taken to ensure that the legal proceedings,
including requests for pre-trial detention, against a former President are
not influenced by political motivations.
The charges against
former President Saakashvili are serious and no one, including a
former President, should be above the law. However, without wanting
to pass judgment on the merits of the charges, we wish to emphasise
that especially in a charged political environment such as in Georgia,
all necessary steps should be taken to ensure that the legal proceedings,
including requests for pre-trial detention, against a former President are
not influenced by political motivations. 19. On 2 July 2014, additional charges were filed against former
Minister of Defence Bacho Akhalaia for allegedly organising several
detainees to be tortured. Mr Akhalaia was convicted and sentenced
to a prison term in October 2013 for similar offences, but was pardoned
by then President Saakashvili. At the same time, he has been cleared
by the courts of several other charges that were brought against
him by the prosecution. On 5 July 2014, the court granted the request
for Mr Akhalaia to remain in pre-trial detention on the basis of these
new charges. With the decision to grant pre-trial detention, the
court inadvertently allowed his pre-trial detention to legally exceed
the nine-month limit that is set by Georgian legislation. Indeed,
Mr Akhalaia’s defence attorney has alleged that this was the sole
purpose of the new charges against his client. We have already expressed
our concerns in general about the excessive use of pre-trial detention
in Georgia and are therefore extremely concerned about the proceedings
that have allowed Mr Akhalaia to remain in pre-trial detention beyond
the nine-month limit that is clearly the spirit of the law. We urge
the Georgian authorities to exchange his pre-trial detention for
another, non-custodial, precautionary measure that is available
to the courts and prosecution.
5. Proposed amendments to the draft resolution on the functioning of democratic institutions in Georgia
20. After paragraph 10, insert the following paragraph:
“The Assembly welcomes the peaceful and calm conduct of the local elections on 15 June and 12 July 2014, which took place in an improved electoral environment. However, it expresses its concern about isolated violent incidents during the campaign period and about the persistent allegations of pressure on, and intimidation of, opposition candidates to withdraw their candidatures, which created a charged and contentious campaign environment. It calls on the authorities to fully, and transparently, investigate the reports of pressure on, and intimidation of, candidates to resign and, if violations are found, to prosecute perpetrators in line with the Georgian legislation.”
21. After paragraph 10.2, insert the following sub-paragraph:
“takes note of the charges filed against former President Saakashvili and, while emphasising that no one is above the law, urges the authorities to ensure that, given the charged political climate in the country, the legal proceedings, including requests for pre-trial detention, against him are not influenced by political motivations;”
22. After paragraph 10.5, add the following sub-paragraph:
“expresses its concern about the length of the pre-trial detention of former Defence Minister Bacho Akhalaia and asks the authorities to use all legal means available to replace his detention on remand with some other non-custodial precautionary measure.”
23. In paragraph 18, at the end of the sentence, add the following
text: “, as well as those contained in his follow-up report.”