Lawyers plan more protests, denounce ‘traitors’
By Shorena Labadze
Friday, April 11
Lawyers striking in demand of court reforms called off a hunger strike yesterday, but warned of more protests next week.
Earlier this week, an association of Georgian lawyers called on their colleagues to boycott court proceedings and join protests in front of local courts.
“An unprecedented event happened in Georgia, when 3500 lawyers expressed their solidarity and stood besides the lawyers who began the protest,” leading organizer Zaza Khatiashvili said.
Khatiashvili said lawyers who ignored the strike to attend court proceedings were “traitors.”
“There are lawyers who are under the command of the prosecutor general. The prosecutor general’s employees took them from trial to trial, from the civil court to the appeals court, to pretend that things were still running,” he told reporters.
Malkhaz Jangirashvili, a lawyer on who recently came off a 29-day hunger strike, threatened to release the names of lawyers who broke the boycott to Kavkasia, a local pro-opposition television station.
Court spokeswoman Maia Jvarjeishvili told reporters that 22 lawyers were fined for missing court dates this week.
Jvarjeishvili also said the lawyers’ strike was a failure.
“We have grounds to say [it failed] because on April 8 [during the strike] there were 87 cases and 27 petitions discussed [by courts],” she said. “Participation in strikes like this is person’s right and not an obligation. And each lawyer has the right to make a decision personally to join or not the strike.”
Khatiashvili, one of the organizers, said they won’t give up.
“We’ll fight to the end, until we have justice in the courts. Two lawyers will go on hunger strike every day to fight against the ‘prosecutor’s state,’” Khatiashvili pledged.
Strike leaders say they are planning more protests in the next week. One of the organizers, Gela Nikolaishvili, denied connections with any political party.
“While hunger striking, there were representatives from almost every political party who expressed their solidarity, but we have no other connection with them,” Nikolaishvili said.
Georgia’s court system, a top priority for reforms, has been widely criticized at home and abroad for corruption, poor legal processes and arbitrary rulings.
Earlier this week, an association of Georgian lawyers called on their colleagues to boycott court proceedings and join protests in front of local courts.
“An unprecedented event happened in Georgia, when 3500 lawyers expressed their solidarity and stood besides the lawyers who began the protest,” leading organizer Zaza Khatiashvili said.
Khatiashvili said lawyers who ignored the strike to attend court proceedings were “traitors.”
“There are lawyers who are under the command of the prosecutor general. The prosecutor general’s employees took them from trial to trial, from the civil court to the appeals court, to pretend that things were still running,” he told reporters.
Malkhaz Jangirashvili, a lawyer on who recently came off a 29-day hunger strike, threatened to release the names of lawyers who broke the boycott to Kavkasia, a local pro-opposition television station.
Court spokeswoman Maia Jvarjeishvili told reporters that 22 lawyers were fined for missing court dates this week.
Jvarjeishvili also said the lawyers’ strike was a failure.
“We have grounds to say [it failed] because on April 8 [during the strike] there were 87 cases and 27 petitions discussed [by courts],” she said. “Participation in strikes like this is person’s right and not an obligation. And each lawyer has the right to make a decision personally to join or not the strike.”
Khatiashvili, one of the organizers, said they won’t give up.
“We’ll fight to the end, until we have justice in the courts. Two lawyers will go on hunger strike every day to fight against the ‘prosecutor’s state,’” Khatiashvili pledged.
Strike leaders say they are planning more protests in the next week. One of the organizers, Gela Nikolaishvili, denied connections with any political party.
“While hunger striking, there were representatives from almost every political party who expressed their solidarity, but we have no other connection with them,” Nikolaishvili said.
Georgia’s court system, a top priority for reforms, has been widely criticized at home and abroad for corruption, poor legal processes and arbitrary rulings.