GYLA Concludes Presumption of Innocence of Lazare Grigoriadis was 'Repeatedly Violated' by Gov't Officials
By Liza Mchedlidze
Wednesday, April 5, 2023
Georgian Young Lawyers Association responded to the case of 21-year-old Lazare Grigoriadis, the arrested activist accused of throwing a 'Molotov cocktail' at police during the 'Foreign Agents' bill protests in March.
GYLA, based on public sources, believes that there may be cases of violation of the defendant's rights and called on the Special Investigation Service and the Public Defender to act in accordance with their mandate.
According to GYLA's assessment, the discriminatory statements made by government officials may negatively impact Lazare Grigoriadis' right to a fair trial.
"Regarding the arrest of Lazare Grigoriadis, the chairman of the ruling party, Irakli Kobakhidze, made a discriminatory statement. His statement was not only homophobic, but also aimed at forming negative attitudes about Lazare Grigoriadis in the general public.
The statement made by Prime Minister Irakli Gharibashvili regarding the participants of the March 7-8 rally is also problematic," GYLA statement reads.
According to the organization, despite the fact that Gharibashvili did not directly name Grigoriadis' name, the sentence he said had a context which was detectable by the public, thereby violating the presumption of innocence of Grigoriadis.
"Also, the day before, on April 2, 2023, the TV company Imedi program in Imedi Week, the presenter mentioned Lazare Grigoriadis as convicted in the past, the program also spread the materials of the ongoing criminal case against Lazare, in such a way that it would have caused a negative attitude towards Lazare Grigoriadis in society.
It should be emphasized that on March 31, 2023, at the public session of the first presentation of Lazare Grigoriadis in court, the judge confirmed that Lazare has not been convicted," the organization noted.
GYLA concluded that the presumption of innocence of Lazare Grigoriadis was repeatedly violated by the statements made by politicians and the false information about his criminal record was spread.
