Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association arranged presentation of the Legal Analysis –“Cases of Criminal and Administrative Offences with Alleged Political Motive” on June 10, 2011 at 12:00 in hotel “Courtyard Marriott.

The Research funded by the Embassy of the Kingdom of Netherlands in Georgia, mainly entails legal analysis of the cases of detained/arrested persons during and following spring 2009 protest rallies. We saw the necessity of doing the research after the topic of political prisoners in Georgia became widely discussed in public and international community. Following served as criteria for case selection: high public interest in a particular case, as well as alleged political motive of criminal prosecution or administrative responsibility.

Legal analysis of cases reviewed in the research determined methodical errors in the execution of criminal justice in relation to individuals who can be considered as possible opponents of the authority due to political or public activities of these persons or their friends and family. The analysis discovered both legislative flaws and wrong interpretation of procedure legislation, as well as malpractice reinforced by inaccurate practice of the applicable law.

24 cases were selected for the research, including 6 cases involving administrative violations and 18 criminal cases.

Representatives from international organizations, foreign embassies, non governmental organizations and state authorities were invited at the meeting.