Seven Years After Conviction Court Says Photographers Were Innocent
By Gvantsa Gabekhadze
Friday, November 23
Four Georgian photographers, who were convicted for spying for Russia under the United National Movement leadership in 2011, were found innocent by the Court of Appeals on Thursday and they saw their conviction status removed.
The court shared the position of the Chief Prosecutor’s Office that the real reason of the detention was the photos taken by the people showing the former government’s inhuman treatment to peaceful protesters in central Tbilisi on May 26, 2011.
The court shared the view that Mikheil Saakashvili’s government was angry as the photos depicting the brutal dispersal of the rally went viral.
The photographers were released via plea bargain the same year after the large-scale protest of the Georgian media representatives regarding the detention.
Giorgi Abdalazde, Zurab Kurtsikidze, Irakli and Natela Gedenidze stated under the Georgian Dream leadership that they were forced, tortured and intimidated to confess that they were Russian spies.
In 2016 Davit Devnozashvili, the former Deputy Head of the Tbilisi Territorial Division of the Department of Counterintelligence of Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia was arrested for exceeding official powers under violence and by insulting the personal dignity of a victim regarding the case.
As for Alexander Mukhadze, the former director of the N8 prison, an indictment has been issued against him.
The Prosecutor’s Office stressed then that they addressed the Court of Appeals to re-check the case and remove the convict status from the photographers.
