Prosecutor’s Office Launches Probe After ECHR’s Ruling into Merabishvili’s Case

Georgian Chief Prosecutor’s Office said on Tuesday it has opened an investigation into allegations voiced by ex-interior minister Vano Merabishvili two and a half years ago about being removed from his pretrial detention cell for a meeting with then chief prosecutor in an attempt to put pressure on him, which has remained uninvestigated resulting into European Court of Human Rights ruling partly in favor of Merabishvili’s complaint last week.
 
“Based on the European Court of Human Rights’ June 14 ruling, the Chief Prosecutor’s Office launched an investigation into possible case of exceeding official powers by certain officials,” said prosecutor’s office spokesperson Natia Sukhiashvili.

The Strasbourg-based court said in its ruling on June 14 that Merabishvili’s initial pretrial detention in May, 2013 was lawful, but the decision of the Tbilisi City Court four months later, in September 2013, to remand him in detention lacked reasonable grounds.

The ECHR also found violation of Article 18 of the European convention on human rights, saying that Merabishvili’s detention was “used not only for the purpose of bringing” him before the relevant legal authorities on “reasonable suspicion” of various offenses with which he had been charged, “but was also treated by the prosecuting authorities as an additional opportunity to obtain leverage” over investigations into unrelated cases, including the one against ex-President Mikheil Saakashvili.

Article 18 of the Convention deals with situations when even if the state justifies restricting someone’s rights, it will still be deemed a violation if it turns out that this restriction of rights, among them detention, was used for some ulterior purposes, including hidden political agenda or any reason other than the one formally stated. There have been only few cases in the practice of the ECHR to find the violation of this article.

This finding by the Strasbourg-based court in respect of violation of the Article 18 stems from the incident that occurred in December 2013, when Merabishvili was removed from his cell and taken for a late-night meeting with then chief prosecutor, Otar Partskhaladze, whom Merabishvili accused of intimidation for the purpose of obtaining information about the death of the former Prime Minister, Zurab Zhvania, and about alleged secret offshore bank accounts of ex-President Mikheil Saakashvili.

The ECHR found this allegation of Merabishvili about his removal from the cell credible. The Court also noted that there was “clearly observable reluctance” by the prison authority to provide access to video images taken by the prison surveillance cameras, which could have shed more light on the incident; and in general, the ECHR said, the authorities, “notably” then Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, then prison system minister Sozar Subari, who is now the minister in charge of IDPs issues, were “unmistakably opposed to the calls for an objective and thorough investigation”.

Justice Minister Tea Tskulukiani said on June 14 that the Georgian authorities will now have to investigate the December 2013 incident.

Ex-PM Bidzina Ivanishvili, who is involved in the ruling GDDG party’s election campaign, said on June 20 that Merabishvili’s allegation that he was removed from his cell for a late-night meeting with the chief prosecutor was “ridiculous” for him back then and still remains such now.

He, however, also added when speaking to journalists after hosting an economic conference: “It would have been better if it had been investigated at the time… As far as questions remains, it should be investigated… Perhaps it will be investigated at least now.”
 
Otar Partskhaladze, who had to step down from chief prosecutor’s position on December 30, 2013, a week after being embroiled in criminal record scandal and less than six weeks after taking the office, denies Merabishvili’s allegations. He told Rustavi 2 TV last week that he cannot be prosecuted over the case which has never happened.

Asked about his friendship with current chief prosecutor Irakli Shotadze, Partskhaladze responded: “It makes no difference whether Shotadze is my friend or not, he is an honest man and will investigate everything objectively.”

UNM opposition party said that launch of investigation now is too little, too late.

UNM MP Levan Tarkhnishvili said that the only adequate reaction to the ECHR’s ruling would be to release Merabishvili and “other political prisoners” from jail.

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