Human Rights Activists Allege Glaring Fabrication of Evidence

On August 2 criminal police in the Shida Kartli region of Georgia detained Revaz Okruashvili, editor of the newspaper "People's Newspaper" alleging the illegal possession and sale of narcotics. He was later sentenced by the court to three months of preliminary detention. The detention may trigger the first serious political crisis for the new administration, as human rights activists allege fabrication of evidence and speak about political persecution of Okruashvili from the governor of Shida Kartli - Mikheil Kareli. Interior Minister Irakli Okruashvili threw his weight behind the detention on August 3, stating that he personally ordered the operation.

The campaign to release the arrested editor is led by the influential Liberty Institute. This activist group had strongly criticized Eduard Shevardnadze’s government for human rights abuses and is considered one of the driving forces behind the November 2003 "Rose Revolution" that brought Saakashvili to power. The Liberty Institute convened a press-conference on August 3, announcing that "criminal practices of fabrication of evidence, including planting of the narcotics and weapons, continues at the Interior Ministry."

According to the investigation by the Liberty Institute activists, numerous procedural violations are apparent in the detention of Revaz Okruashvili. The information provided by the head of the criminal department of Shida Kartli, Revaz Kldiashvili, and head of the Shida Kartli police, Alexander Sukhitashvili, is contradictory. According to Kldiashvili, the information about the detainee's participation in drug sales was being processed for over a year. Nonetheless, Kldiashvili did not obtain a court warrant, neither for the detention of Revaz Okruashvili nor for searching the premises of the newspaper. This was explained as an "operative necessity" - in other words an urgent need that could not have been brought to the attention of the court. In addition, Liberty Institute claims, the protocol of the search of Okruashvili and the offices was not handed to the defense on the day of detention, as foreseen by the law. The names of the witnesses on the protocol, which was delivered a day later, did not match the names of the witnesses provided by the police chief on the day of detention. These facts increase suspicions of fabrication of evidence.

The family of the detainee argues that Kvemo Kartli governor Mikheil Kareli, as well as the police chiefs of Shida Kartli, were alarmed by publications in "People's Newspaper" that alleged the region's administration’s continued participation in illegal trade and smuggling via South Ossetia - a secessionist Georgian region bordering Shida Kartli. The newspaper also alleged that the governor deserted from military service. According to Revaz Okruashvili's wife, Badri Nanitashvili, formerly the owner of the local TV company close to the governor and currently an MP, has threatened to "bring up the narcotics charges" against her if the newspaper did not stop publishing compromising material against the governor. One of the leaders of Liberty Institute, Sozar Subeliani, tipped by President Saakashvili to become the Public Defender of Georgia, says pressure was placed on the newspaper. "The last issue of the newspaper was practically impounded [by the local authorities], it never went into circulation" Subeliani says.

So far, Liberty Institute steers clear of the political background, demanding the release of Revaz Okruashvili based on glaring procedural violations that took place during the detention and investigation, as well as allegations of fabrication of evidence by the Shida Kartli police chiefs. However, the incident may develop into a political crisis, now that Georgia's Interior Minister Irakli Okruashvili has squarely thrown his weight behind the arrest. Speaking to Georgian TV, Okruashvili stated he would "not allow criminals to hide behind television and media." He also says the "participation of Revaz Okruashvili in drug sales is widely known [in Gori]."

Another Liberty Institute leader, Levan Ramishvili, claims the Interior Minister's tough course in punishing criminals is widely used by police officers in Georgia as an excuse to torture the detainees.

The political crisis has forced the National Movement to respond. Ironically, spokesperson of the ruling National Movement, Giga Bokeria is one of the founders and activists of the Liberty Institute. Speaking on behalf of the party, Bokeria backed the Institute, charging that "there are substantial grounds to suspect that the detention of [Revaz Okruashvili] took place by violating the procedural norms." He called for an investigation of the incident and the release of Revaz Okruashvili.

The situation within the National Movement was further confused as on August 4, when President Mikheil Saakashvili called Shida Kartli Governor "a hero" and praised him and the chief of the local police for their handling of the South Ossetian situation. In the meantime, Georgian journalists have launched protests in Kutaisi, Tbilisi and Batumi against this detention.

To defend itself from the attacks the Interior Ministry has responded to some of the earlier charges by the human rights activists by firing the officers suspected of torturing detainees. Criminal proceedings were initiated against some of them. It is likely, however, that Minister Okruashvili will sustain further heat following his politically compromising stand over the arrest of the Gori newspaper editor. Allegations of nepotism are already being made, as some reporters allege that the Minister is trying to cover-up some wrongdoings by the Shida Kartli governor - his close friend and classmate at the university.