Court of Appeal acquits 6 convicts in July 5 case of group violence and reduces their sentences
By Liza Mchedlidze
Tuesday, January 17, 2023
On July 5, the Court of Appeal reduced the sentence of the first instance for those convicted of violence against TV Pirveli cameraman Lekso Lashkarava and journalist Miranda Baghaturia, as well as Public Broadcaster cameraman Ilia Tvaliashvili in the office of Tbilisi Pride and sentenced them to 4 years in prison instead of 5 years.
The Prosecutor's Office of Georgia does not agree with the decision of the Court of Appeal to reduce the sentence for the Putinist orcs and will appeal it to the Supreme Court.
Georgian Young Lawyers Association responded to Court's decision with a statement and said this is another example of strengthening the syndrome of impunity for the violence perpetrated by hate groups on media representatives on July 5, 2021, which the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Prosecutor's Office of Georgia have the primary role as the bodies authorized to conduct the investigation and file charges.
"Georgia's Prosecutor's Office disagrees with the verdict of the Court of Appeal, according to which on July 5, the convicts were partially acquitted of the facts of persecution and violence against the operator and journalist of TV Pirveli, as well as the operator of Channel One due to journalistic activities, participation in organized group violence and damage to health, and will appeal this decision to the Supreme Court," the statement reads.
European Georgia's leader Giga Bokeria also responded to the court's decision and said that under Ivanishvili's regime, they are 'untouchable', because the Georgian Dream maintains its power based on them.
"One issue is the improper punishment of the perpetrators, the soldiers who committed the crime. They were charged with the wrong article from the beginning, it should have been a more serious article. Now they have eased it even more and will probably ease it even more. The main issue is that the organizers and leaders of this Putinist part of Ivanishvili's regime are completely untouchable in public.
These are the same people who publicly support Putin against Ukraine, also Georgia. These people are completely untouchable. Therefore, if anyone still has any illusions about the face of this regime, they should at least understand that Ivanishvili's face is Putinist propaganda, mood, and spirit because he relies on them to maintain his own power at the expense of the future of our country," said Bokeria.
