Death penalty is envisaged according to 13 articles of the Criminal Code of Georgia (the crimes include terrorist acts, diversions, high treason, genocide, banditism, manslaughter). Georgian Constitution (Article 15 ) says, that death penalty, "until its full abolition," can be envisaged by a new organic law, which should be adopted by Parliament. However, Georgian Parliament has not adopted such a law yet. Besides, the Article 106 of the Constitution (106) grants legal power only to those normative acts that do not contradict the Constitution.
The plaintiffs demand recognition parts of the Criminal Code of Georgia, which envisage death penalty as unconstitutional. "Otherwise, it can be followed by fatal results for both sides" - the plaintiffs announce. A session was chaired by the first board of Constitutional Court. The plaintiffs demanded insertion of Gela Gogichaishvili (sentenced to death), whose representative would be Kartlos Garibashvili. Though Mr. Garibashvili needed a new warrant from Mr. Gogichaishvili, as far as the old one was directed only to Supreme Court. According to our rules, it's impossible to meet with a prisoner sentenced to death. That's why, the Constitutional Court denied Mr. Gogichaishvili's action.
When the judges returned to the court-room, the entrance door was closed and they hardly managed to enter the room with the help of Mr. Avtandil Demetrashvili's guard.
Afterwards, the judges issued a negative verdict and did not examine the suit. According to them, the action was not brought by a person with appropriate liability. According to our constitutional legal procedure, an action must be brought by the person, whose rights were directly violated, i.e. in this case - by a person sentenced to death. The latter can not do it, because of well-known reasons.
Moreover, President of Georgia, 1/5 of Parliament and people's defender have the right to bring in an action. We have no ombudsman, 1/5 of Parliament has not done it, and President, in his turn, has declared a moratorium, according to which death sentence will not be executed, until the organic law is not implemented and the parliament does not discuss the questions of death penalty. It means, that people will not be killed, though they will be still sentenced to death. Hence, the question remains undecided. Most prisoners sentenced to death demand execution of their sentences, because they prefer to be killed, than remain in uncertainty. Thus, the only hope is directed towards Parliament of Georgia.
Tea Rusitashvili
"Alia",
January 16-17, 1997
Our organization has already expressed its opinion about President's moratorium on death penalty (see issue IV of our bulletin). We repeat once again, that the moratorium was the first step forward, though if it is not followed by other steps taken in the direction of final abolition of death penalty, the moratorium can become a provoking instrument in the hands of the authority, which can be used for anti-humane purposes.
The situation in the cells is too grave at present. Therefore, we demand to create elementary living conditions to those prisoners, who are sentenced to death for inhumane conditions at the death cells have already sacrifised the life of Aleko Labadze. Aleko Labadze, who was also sentenced to death, died at Tbilisi Isolator 1 in January, 1997.