Court of Appeals upholds City Court decision, leaves Lelo’ Khazaradze in imprisonment

The Court of Appeals upheld the decision of the City Court, based on which Mamuka Khazaradze, leader of the Lelo party, will remain in prison.

Giorgi Sioridze, a member of the Lelo party, said they received the “shameful decision” dated August 8, adding the Appeals Court reviewed the case within one hour.

“I would like to remind society that Mamuka Khazaradze was convicted under Article 349 of the Criminal Code of Georgia for non-fulfilment of the requirements of the interim parliamentary investigation commission. Yes, Mamuka Khazaradze intentionally did not attend the meeting of Tsulukiani’s commission, which is staffed in violation of the law. Therefore, Mamuka Khazaradze did not commit a crime,” he said.

According to the Lelo member, the interim investigation commission is established within an illegitimate parliament and in violation of Article 42 of the Constitution.

“Based on the Constitution, one-half of the commission membership should be staffed by representatives of the opposition. While the Georgian Dream presented a certain group within its composition as the opposition, the 2-member quota had to go to Giorgi Gakharia’s party, which the party did not take up. The commission’s regulations have also been breached, particularly concerning the procedures for summoning individuals to meetings, who should sign the minutes, and related matters.

The Court of Appeals, like the city court, did not dare to summon the main witnesses of the case, and these were Tsulukiani and her entourage. This is not acceptable in a lawful state. When it comes to Article 349, under which no one has been convicted in Georgia before, we are dealing with a precedent. Judicial reviews of precedent cases without an oral hearing are inadmissible in both the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court. Nobody expected the Court of Appeals to divert from Ivanishvili’s demand. However, we will follow this case to the end, to the Supreme Court, to create a basis for the appeal to the European Court of Human Rights, and let the Strasbourg Court establish the truth in this case,” he said.