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Compiled by Sopo Datishvili
Monday, February 16
Church robbed for the fourth time

Sakartvelos Respublika reports that church of the Iviron Icon of the Mother of God in Kutaisi has once again been robbed.

The burglars entered the church through the window. Church employees found the charity box broken when they entered the church in the morning. About GEL 40 and ecclesiastic literature had been stolen.

The Iveron Icon of the Mother of God Church has been robbed three times previously.



MP begins hunger strike

Sakartvelos Respublika reports that Member of the Abkhazian Supreme Council Jemal Sajaia, who was forcibly removed from his house at Tskneti Tamar Mepe Street 54 with his family, has begun a hunger strike to protest against this.

Members of the Abkhazian Supreme Council are asking the President to punish those who removed Sajaia and his family and restore justice. They say that this in the second time police have violently removed the Sajaias from their home. The incident took place on February 11.



New airport planned for Tamarasheni

Rezonansi, based on an Osinform report, states that it is planned to open a new airport in the Tamarasheni area of South Ossetia. The authors of the project say that the airport will be built in several stages; firstly they will start working on the tracking and departure complex, after this the terminal, parking spaces, hotel and forecourt. The length of the runway will be 3,600 metres. According to Osinform the airport will be able to receive military and civilian craft.



Russians won’t build borders

Sakartvelos Respublika reports that the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia has not confirmed information about building special boundaries at the administrative border of South Ossetia. This was announced by the official webpage of the Ministry. Russia is planning to defend the administrative border jointly with so-called South Ossetia.

It was announced a few days ago that it is planned to build a special boundary at the administrative border of so called South Ossetia which will be sensitive to simple movement and sound an alert.



Will Strasbourg take cases into consideration?

Sakartvelos Respublika reports that the Young Lawyers’ Association will send 45 cases of people damaged in the August war to the Strasbourg European Human Rights Court.

As Head of the Association Tamar Khidasheli said at a press conference, these cases concern the interests of 340 people in total. Considering cases takes quite a long time in the Strasbourg court and therefore the Young Lawyers’ Association is asking for a rapid discussion and for the court to send special observers who will identify the facts.

The President of the Association says that the August war damaged a lot of people in Georgia. Their fundamental rights were violated by Russian occupiers. Georgian citizens were arrested and forced into slavery during captivity.

“Many of these people had lost their relatives and their lives were in danger. Some of them were tortured and treated terribly. The occupiers also massively damaged their properties. Most houses in the Didi and Patara Liakhvi Gorges were burnt down,” Khidasheli said at the press conference.

The cases sent to the European Court generally concern the violation of such paragraphs in the Euro Convention as those on torture, inhuman treatment, property rights and discrimination.