The News in Brief
Friday, December 4
Davit Bakradze hopes France will take peace protection into account when deciding whether to sell ‘Mistral’ to Russia
Parliament Chairman Davit Bakradze hopes France will take peace protection in the region into account when making a decision on selling the Mistral warship to Russia.
Bakradze said that for Georgia this isn’t just a ‘commercial deal’. Georgia has already informed France and European partners of its views on this issue, he noted, adding that a letter had already been drafted by the Chairman of the Parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee which would be sent to the French Parliament in the next few days.
Vladimir Putin stated during his visit to Paris last week that the purchase of the Mistral isn’t excluded. Asked what the guarantee was that Russia wouldn’t use the ship against Georgia, he said that Russia would use it wherever it considered necessary. Georgian MPs severely criticised France's willingness to deal with Putin after that statement. (Interpressnews)
Convicts to be rehabilitated in churches and monasteries
Two convicts will serve the rest of their sentences at churches and monasteries thanks to the mediation of the Standing Commission of the Ministry of Corrections and Legal Assistance, the Ministry informs. Minister of Corrections and Legal Assistance Dimitri Shashkin and the Deputy Ministers Koka Seperteladze and Levan Zarandia had visited the Patriarchate of Georgia and met Metropolitan Theodore to discuss this.
The Standing Commission applied to the court to commute the rest of the convict's imprisonment to a term of community work on the basis of the Memorandum of Understanding signed by the Government and the Apostolic Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Georgia. Under the Memorandum the Church takes the responsibility to employ the convicts in community work and economic activities at churches and monasteries under certain conditions stipulated by the Ministry of Corrections and Legal Assistance.
The Georgian Apostolic Church has expressed its readiness to contribute to the resocialisation of convicted persons by involving them in Church service and facilitating their active participation in community work. (Interpressnews)
Occupiers beat pregnant woman in Nabakevi, Gali district
Civilians are still being assaulted in breakaway Abkhazia. The occupation forces have assaulted a married couple in the village of Nabakevi, in Gali district, and beaten up a pregnant woman so badly that she has been hospitalised.
Lia Ghurtskaia has been taken to Sokhumi hospital. The aggressors demanded USD 500 from the couple, but they did not have any money with them.
The aggressors also arrested Tamaz Jobava, 45, while he was fishing. He is still in their captivity. They have demanded a USD 50,000 ransom from his family. (Rustavi 2)
Saakashvili meets famous businesswoman Ivana Trump
Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili has met famous businesswoman Ivana Trump at the Presidential Residence. The President’s Administration noted that Ivana Trump is a leading figure in New York business circles and has taken part in various important projects.
Ivana Trump intends to invest capital in Georgia, a spokesman for the President’s Administration said. On her initiative a multi-function entertainment centre is being planned in Batumi, Adjara. (Interpressnews)
Dachi Tsaguria versus Georgia to be filed at European Court on Monday
The case ‘Dachi Tsaguri versus Georgia’ will be filed at the European Court of Human Rights on Monday. It is an unprecedented appeal regarding the violation of the right to freedom of speech and expression, Tsaguria’s lawyer Mamuka Nozadze has told Interpressnews.
The lawyer alleges that Dachi Tsaguria’s right to freedom of expression, ensured by the European Convention, was violated during the breakup of a peaceful manifestation near the Tbilisi Police Department on 15 June. He says that the appeal will present evidence that the manifestation was peaceful and didn’t obstruct traffic movement.
The lawyer is also appealing against a violation of the third article of the European Convention, as Dachi Tsaguria was kept in inhuman conditions in the interim isolator, he says, and was also deprived of the right to a fair trial as he was not allowed to hire a lawyer.
Mamuka Nozadze says that Tsaguria appealed to the Prosecutor’s Office to launch an investigation but in vain. Tsaguria was detained on 15 June along with other opposition activists and sentenced to 30 days' preliminary detention. (Interpressnews)
Christian Democrats present new proposal on pension rise
The Christian Democrat group of the Georgian Parliament has presented a new proposal to increase the pensions of law enforcers and combat veterans. MP Giorgi Akhvlediani said that there are 20,000 war veterans in the country and GEL 36 million should be allocated from the state budget to give them the pensions they deserve.
"Several days are left before the budget is approved by Parliament. If the Government wants the budget to be oriented on social issues, it should take into consideration the extremely difficult conditions of its most meritorious citizens," Giorgi Akhvlediani said. (Rustavi 2)
Parliament Chairman Davit Bakradze hopes France will take peace protection in the region into account when making a decision on selling the Mistral warship to Russia.
Bakradze said that for Georgia this isn’t just a ‘commercial deal’. Georgia has already informed France and European partners of its views on this issue, he noted, adding that a letter had already been drafted by the Chairman of the Parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee which would be sent to the French Parliament in the next few days.
Vladimir Putin stated during his visit to Paris last week that the purchase of the Mistral isn’t excluded. Asked what the guarantee was that Russia wouldn’t use the ship against Georgia, he said that Russia would use it wherever it considered necessary. Georgian MPs severely criticised France's willingness to deal with Putin after that statement. (Interpressnews)
Convicts to be rehabilitated in churches and monasteries
Two convicts will serve the rest of their sentences at churches and monasteries thanks to the mediation of the Standing Commission of the Ministry of Corrections and Legal Assistance, the Ministry informs. Minister of Corrections and Legal Assistance Dimitri Shashkin and the Deputy Ministers Koka Seperteladze and Levan Zarandia had visited the Patriarchate of Georgia and met Metropolitan Theodore to discuss this.
The Standing Commission applied to the court to commute the rest of the convict's imprisonment to a term of community work on the basis of the Memorandum of Understanding signed by the Government and the Apostolic Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Georgia. Under the Memorandum the Church takes the responsibility to employ the convicts in community work and economic activities at churches and monasteries under certain conditions stipulated by the Ministry of Corrections and Legal Assistance.
The Georgian Apostolic Church has expressed its readiness to contribute to the resocialisation of convicted persons by involving them in Church service and facilitating their active participation in community work. (Interpressnews)
Occupiers beat pregnant woman in Nabakevi, Gali district
Civilians are still being assaulted in breakaway Abkhazia. The occupation forces have assaulted a married couple in the village of Nabakevi, in Gali district, and beaten up a pregnant woman so badly that she has been hospitalised.
Lia Ghurtskaia has been taken to Sokhumi hospital. The aggressors demanded USD 500 from the couple, but they did not have any money with them.
The aggressors also arrested Tamaz Jobava, 45, while he was fishing. He is still in their captivity. They have demanded a USD 50,000 ransom from his family. (Rustavi 2)
Saakashvili meets famous businesswoman Ivana Trump
Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili has met famous businesswoman Ivana Trump at the Presidential Residence. The President’s Administration noted that Ivana Trump is a leading figure in New York business circles and has taken part in various important projects.
Ivana Trump intends to invest capital in Georgia, a spokesman for the President’s Administration said. On her initiative a multi-function entertainment centre is being planned in Batumi, Adjara. (Interpressnews)
Dachi Tsaguria versus Georgia to be filed at European Court on Monday
The case ‘Dachi Tsaguri versus Georgia’ will be filed at the European Court of Human Rights on Monday. It is an unprecedented appeal regarding the violation of the right to freedom of speech and expression, Tsaguria’s lawyer Mamuka Nozadze has told Interpressnews.
The lawyer alleges that Dachi Tsaguria’s right to freedom of expression, ensured by the European Convention, was violated during the breakup of a peaceful manifestation near the Tbilisi Police Department on 15 June. He says that the appeal will present evidence that the manifestation was peaceful and didn’t obstruct traffic movement.
The lawyer is also appealing against a violation of the third article of the European Convention, as Dachi Tsaguria was kept in inhuman conditions in the interim isolator, he says, and was also deprived of the right to a fair trial as he was not allowed to hire a lawyer.
Mamuka Nozadze says that Tsaguria appealed to the Prosecutor’s Office to launch an investigation but in vain. Tsaguria was detained on 15 June along with other opposition activists and sentenced to 30 days' preliminary detention. (Interpressnews)
Christian Democrats present new proposal on pension rise
The Christian Democrat group of the Georgian Parliament has presented a new proposal to increase the pensions of law enforcers and combat veterans. MP Giorgi Akhvlediani said that there are 20,000 war veterans in the country and GEL 36 million should be allocated from the state budget to give them the pensions they deserve.
"Several days are left before the budget is approved by Parliament. If the Government wants the budget to be oriented on social issues, it should take into consideration the extremely difficult conditions of its most meritorious citizens," Giorgi Akhvlediani said. (Rustavi 2)