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Cohabitation is a false element

Advisor of Prime Minister, Bidzina Ivanishvili, Gia Khukhashvili, states in his interview with Kviris Palitra newspaper that “cohabitation is a false element and the United National Movement is trying to use the situation for its own profit.”

“The United National Movement wants to be free from the legal responsibility through cohabitation, that from my points of view is categorically unacceptable,” Khukashvili says, adding that if the UNM wants “cohabitation with public” it should ask for a pardon for the mistakes and crimes committed during the leadership of the UNM administration.

“From the beginning they should sincerely ask people to pardon them. Georgians might forgive them for the mistakes and that might became the basis for real cohabitation. Each high official who committed criminal actions during their being on their positions should be strictly punished,” Khukhashvili stated.

The advisor stressed that in case the former leadership does not answer for their wrongdoings there will be serious risks that the current government will become similar to the former.

“The government should create a precedent of legal punishment for crimes. I think that the chance of carrying out serious steps in this regard before the presidential elections will be minimal. After the elections people should feel that justice was established in the country,” Khukhashvili emphasized.



217 inmates were given a positive recommendation

Democracy & Freedom Watch reads that the pardon commission received recommendations from the president, who has the right to pardon prisoners independently or based on the recommendations of the pardon commission.

It has been a tradition for President Saakashvili to pardon prisoners at religious holidays or public celebrations, including August 28, which marks the assumption of Mary, known as Mariamoba in Georgian.

The commission’s session lasted about nine hours. 167 of the prisoners who were given positive recommendation will be released from jail, 47 of them will get their sentence reduced to half, while 3 of them will receive a reduced sentence.

Among those receiving a positive recommendations were 13 women. 7 of them will be released and 6 of them will have their sentence halved. Three juveniles will leave prison and one will get the sentence reduced to half.

Commission head Elene Tevdoradze told Interpressnews that the pardon commission received more than 1, 200 applications, but the majority of the prisoners got negative answers because they haven’t served half of their sentence yet.

Prisoners who are pardoned by the president after getting a positive recommendation by the commission will also be eligible to apply to the president to have their criminal record cleared.