Actors of notorious cases unite against judge
By Tea Mariamidze
Thursday, December 24
On December 25, the Supreme Council of Justice will decide to support its current Secretary Levan Murusizde to the post of a judge of the Court of Appeals or not.
Murusizde now serves as a judge of the Supreme Court. However, his term expires in April 2016, and if he is not appointed as a judge of the Court of Appeals he will automatically lose his Secretarial post in the Supreme Council of Justice.
It should be highlighted that Murusidze was a judge who made verdicts over the well-known cases of Sandro Girgvliani, Sulkhan Molashvili and Giorgi Mikiashvili, murder and torture cases under the previous state leadership which caused controversy and outrage inside and outside the country.
Currently, the family members and actors of the notorious murder and torture cases are protesting against the appointment of Murusidze as a judge of the Court of Appeals.
“There is such a judge from the Supreme Council of Justice, Levan Murusidze, who is dishonestly fighting to remain in the Council, along with his supporters.
“He was the one of the first signatory of the verdict which was made by the former government. I hope that society, government and NGOs will do their best not to let this person become a member of the Council,” stated Guram Girgvliani, the father of Sandro Girgvliani - who was brutally killed under the former state Government - and the husband of Irina Enukidze, who has been posthumously awarded by the President for her civil activism after her son’s murder in 2006.
Ia Metreveli, the mother of another murdered victim during the former government, Buta Robakidze noted “If Enukidze had been alive (she died in 2007 due to an illness), there would not be any talks about Murusidze’s appointment as a judge… justice has not been reached yet,” Metreveli stressed.
Several non-governmetal organizations also state that there are multiple question marks around Murusidze, and he should not be appointed as a judge again.
Murusidze believes that the criticism towards him over several high-profile cases is unfair and he has the right to participate in the election process of the Appeals judges.
According to him, his only demand is a peaceful environment for the contest so that the Council members are allowed to make choice without any pressure.
Meanwhile, Murusidze hopes that his colleagues, who are the members of the Supreme Council, will vote for him. However he doubts that the Chair of the Supreme Court, Nino Gvenetadze will support him.
There are 61 vacant positions of the Appeal judges and more than 100 applicants. For appointment as a judge, a candidate should get 2/3 of votes of 14 Council members.
