• Text size  | | |
• Email this document
• Printable version

Georgia: Reports of 12 inmates who escaped from Ortachala prison in Tbilisi on 30 September 2000; if they were accused of an assassination attempt on President Shevardnadze; reports of increased state pressure on opposition groups, specifically the Labour Party (2000 - May 2002)

Russia's Interfax News Agency reported that "12 dangerous criminals ... escaped from the Tbilisi high security prison hospital" on 30 September 2000 (1 Oct 2000a). While Human Rights Watch identifies the "high security prison hospital" reported by Interfax as the "Republican Prison Hospital" and differentiates it from Ortachala prison (2001), a press report from the Georgian Parliament refers to the location of the escape as the "Republic Hospital of the Ortachala Jail" (2 Oct. 2000).

On 12 October 2000, three of the escapees were captured by the Ministries of State Security and Internal Affairs (Georgian Daily Digest 13 Oct. 2000a) in the Ambrolausky region of Western Georgia (ITAR-TASS 12 Oct. 2000). In a later report, RFE/RL stated that the number captured on 12 October 2000 was five, with a further three arrested on 16-17 October 2000 (17 Oct. 2000). As of January 2002, six others remain at large (RFE/RL 31 Jan. 2002).

Among the escapees were "close associates of the late former President Zviad Gamsakhuria, in particular former Finance Minister Guram Absandze and commander of Gamsakhuria's armed supporters, Loti Kobalia" (Interfax 1 Oct. 2000a). Interfax referred to these individuals as "bitter opponents of today's authorities" (1 Oct. 2000b). These two individuals were among the three captured by Georgian security forces on 12 October 2000 (ITAR-TASS 12 Oct. 2000; RFE/RL 17 Oct. 2000).

A number of reports specify Absandze as having been involved in an assassination attempt against President Eduard Shevardnadze in 1998 (HRW 2001; RFE/RL 2 Oct. 2000; ITAR-TASS 12 Oct. 2000; Interfax 3 Oct. 2000). Georgian TV1, for example, specified Absandze as "a prime suspect" in the attempt (12 Oct. 2000), and, according to Human Rights Watch, he "had been one of the defendants in a highly publicized ongoing trial of fourteen individuals accused" (2001). On 17 August 2001, Absandze and seven other men were sentenced to "prison terms ranging from five to 20 years (RFE/RL 17 Aug. 2001). His sentence was reduced on 13 November 2001 from 17 to six years imprisonment after he was found not guilty of involvement in the assassination attempt but guilty of other crimes (ibid. 14 Nov. 2001); he was later pardoned (ibid. 22 Apr. 2002) and released on 19 April 2002 (ITAR-TASS 19 Apr. 2002).

After the escape, ITAR-TASS cited unconfirmed reports that two other escapees were Zurab Edzhibiya and Feniz Gulua who had "trained at one of [the] Chechen bases three years ago [and] tried to assassinate the Georgian president" (3 Oct. 2000). Later reports indicated that Gulua had indeed escaped and was "still at large" (RIA 17 Aug. 2001); however, Ejibia (Edzhibiya) was captured with Absandze and Kobalia on 12 October 2000 (Georgia Daily Digest 13 Oct. 2000) and convicted on 17 August 2001 (RIA 17 August 2001).

The Research Directorate was unable to find reports indicating greater repression of opposition organizations, or of the Labour party specifically, after the escape of 30 September 2000 among sources consulted. According to Human Rights Watch, the deterioration of Georgia's "already poor human rights record" in 2001 was the result of worsening social, economic conditions and widespread corruption (2001). Similarly, Amnesty International's Concerns in Europe biannual reports for 2000 and 2001 fails to mention a security crack down in Georgia for the period in question.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Georgia Daily Digest. 13 October 2000. "Three Major Escapees from Georgian Prison Arrested 'Without Violence.'" (Georgia TV1/BBC Monitoring 12 Oct. 2000) <http://www.eurasianet.org/resource/georgia/hypermail/200010/0027.html> [Accessed 22 May 2002]

Georgian Parliament. 2 October 2000. "Daily News." <http://www.parliament.ge/ WHAT'S_NEW/PRESS/2000/october/021000.htm> [Accessed 22 May 2002]

Georgian TV1 [Tbilisi, in Georgian]. 12 October 2000. "Georgia: Russian General Denies Fugitive Georgian Security Chief in Abkhazia." (FBIS-SOV-2000-1012 12 Oct. 2000/WNC)

Human Rights Watch (HRW). 2001. Human Rights Watch World Report 2001. <http://hrw.org/wr2k1/europe/georgia.html> [Accessed 22 May 2002]

Interfax News Agency [Moscow, in English]. 3 October 2000. "Georgia: Further Details on Justice Minister's Resignation." (FBIS-SOV-2000-1003 3 Oct. 2000/WNC)

_____. 1 October 2000a. "Manhunt on for Fugitives from Georgian Prison Hospital." (NEXIS)

_____. 1 October 2000b. "Georgian President Wants Dangerous Fugitives Returned to Prison." (FBIS-SOV-2000-1001 1 Oct. 2001/WNC)

ITAR-TASS News Agency [Moscow, in English]. 19 April 2002. "Former Finance Minister of Georgia Released From Prison." (FBIS-SOV-2002-0419 19 Apr. 2002/WNC)

_____. 12 October 2000. "Three Convicts Who Escaped from Tbilisi Prison Detained." (NEXIS)

_____. 3 October 2000. "Georgia: No Information on Prisoners' Alleged Escape Abroad." (FBIS-SOV-2000-1003 3 Oct. 2000/WNC)

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL). 22 April 2002. Newsline. "Former Georgian Finance Minister Pardoned." <http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2002/04/2-tca/tca-220402.asp> [Accessed 22 May 2002]

_____. 31 January 2002. Newsline. "Former Georgian Minister Sentenced for Jailbreak." <http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2002/01/310102.asp> [Accessed 22 May 2002]

_____. 14 November 2001. Newsline. "Supreme Court Reduces Former Georgian Minister's Sentence." <http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2001/11/141101.asp> [Accessed 22 May 2002]

_____. 17 August 2001. Newsline. "Former Georgian Finance Minister Sentenced for Attempt to Assassinate President." <http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2001 /08/170801.asp> [Accessed 22 May 2002]

_____. 17 October 2000. Newsline. "Three More Georgian Jail-Breakers Detained." <http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2000/10/171000.asp> [Accessed 22 May 2002]

_____. 2 October 2000. Newsline. "Twelve Prisoners Escape from Georgian Jail." <http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2000/10/021000.asp> [Accessed 22 May 2002]

RIA News Agency [Moscow, in Russian]. 17 August 2001. "Georgia: Further on Sentencing in Shevardanadze Assassination Bid Case." (FBIS-SOV-2001-0817 17 Aug. 2001/WNC)

Additional Sources Consulted

IRB Databases

NEXIS

Internet site including:

Amnesty International

British Helsinki Human Rights Group

Caucasus Institute of Peace, Democracy and Development

Country Reports (2000-2001)

Eurasianet.org

Georgian Daily Digest

Human Rights Online – Georgia

Human Rights Without Frontiers

World News Connection

Search engines:

All the Web

Google

Yahoo

Topics: Opposition,