Amnesty International Report 1996 - Georgia

Seventeen political prisoners were sentenced after proceedings which fell short of international fair trial standards. Allegations of ill-treatment in detention continued. At least 18 people were sentenced to death, and at least eight executed. In the disputed area under their control, Abkhazian militia forces were reportedly responsible for the murder of at least 13 ethnic Georgians and the torture of dozens more. At least one person was sentenced to death in Abkhazia. Head of State Eduard Shevardnadze survived an assassination attempt on 29 August while travelling to sign the new Constitution, which had been adopted by parliament five days earlier. The powerful paramilitary Rescue Corps (formerly known as Mkhedrioni), ordered to disarm in May, was disbanded in October after many of its members were accused of complicity in the assassination attempt. Eduard Shevardnadze was elected to the recreated post of President in November. The new Constitution included basic rights and freedoms, and created the post of Public Defender to monitor the defence of individual rights and freedoms. However, the death penalty was retained as an "exceptional measure of punishment" for "especially serious crimes against life". Talks continued on the political future of the disputed region of Abkhazia (see Amnesty International Report 1995) but the situation remained tense, especially in the southern district of Gali to which small numbers of ethnic Georgians had returned. Both they and the Abkhazian population faced attacks from armed bands, although the security situation made it extremely difficult to confirm allegations that many such attacks were directed or condoned by officials from both sides. The trial before the Supreme Court of an original 19 political prisoners, which started in October 1993, concluded in March when 17 men were sentenced to terms ranging from 30 months' imprisonment to death. The proceedings fell short of international standards for fair trial (see Amnesty International Report 1995). For example, no confessions were excluded from evidence despite allegations that they had been extracted under torture. The sentences, including those of death passed on Irakli Dokvadze and Petre Gelbakhiani, were without right of appeal. Zaza Tsiklauri, who was sentenced to five years' imprisonment in the trial, was among several prisoners to allege that he had been ill-treated in custody. He was reportedly beaten and threatened on his arrival at the corrective labour colony in Rustavi where he had been sent to serve his sentence. At least 18 people were sentenced to death and eight executed between January and October. At least four of the death sentences were passed by the Supreme Court and therefore not subject to appeal. At least one death sentence was commuted. Unofficial sources reported that by November, 28 men were imprisoned pending execution. Abkhazian militia forces were allegedly responsible for the deaths of at least 13 ethnic Georgians and the torture of dozens more in the Gali district. In January, three members of one family were reported to have been deliberately and arbitrarily killed by Abkhazian police based in Tagiloni in what was said to have been a revenge attack after the killing of several police officers by unidentified assailants. Neighbours said they discovered the bodies of Ivan Antilava, his wife Zinaida Taklikishvili and his son-in-law after observing police enter, then leave, the family home. At least 10 Georgians were reportedly killed and dozens of others tortured or ill-treated in March when Abkhazian militia swept through the Gali district in what they described as an operation to register returning Georgians and locate infiltrating "partisans". A spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees reported that UN doctors had seen at least 10 bodies, most of which bore signs of torture including pulled finger-nails, burns and wounds. UN doctors also treated at least 35 people who had suffered similar types of torture or who had been severely beaten. At least one person was sentenced to death by a military tribunal in Abkhazia. Ruzgen Gogokhiya, an ethnic Georgian, who had been charged with terrorist acts against civilians, was believed to be still under sentence of death at the end of the year. Amnesty International urged the Georgian authorities to conduct a judicial review of the case of Irakli Dokvadze and his co-defendants. Amnesty International repeated its calls for all allegations of ill-treatment in custody to be investigated promptly, impartially and comprehensively, with the results made public and any perpetrators identified brought to justice. Amnesty International called for steps towards the complete abolition of the death penalty, for all pending death sentences to be commuted, and for immediate moves to ensure that all those sentenced to death had the right to appeal to a higher court. Amnesty International urged the de facto Abkhazian authorities to conduct prompt, comprehensive and impartial investigations into all allegations of killings, torture and other ill-treatment by militia forces under their control. Amnesty International called for the results of such investigations to be made public and for anyone found responsible to be brought to justice within the bounds of international law. Responding in April, the Abkhazian Prosecutor General's office reported that although an investigation was continuing into the three deaths in Tagiloni, those responsible had not been found. Amnesty International urged the Abkhazian authorities to commute the death sentence imposed on Ruzgen Gogokhiya, and on any other prisoners awaiting execution. Amnesty International sought further information on the application of the death penalty, including assurances that all those sentenced to death had the right of appeal to a higher court.