The News in Brief
Friday, September 2
August 31 marked as Georgian Peacekeeper`s Day
August 31 has been declared Georgian Peacekeeper`s Day. With regard to this day, Defence Minister Levan Izoria and Chief of the GS Major-General Vakhtang Kapanadze laid a wreath on the Memorial of the Heroes who died fighting for the territorial integrity of Georgia and while performing peacekeeping operations. Deputy Ministers Lela Chikovani, Zaal Kapanadze and Giorgi Butkhuzi as well as Deputy Chief of the GS Giorgi Surmava, paid tribute to the memory of the fallen soldiers.
Georgian Peacekeeper`s Day was established by the decision of Defence Minister Levan Izoria. 17 years ago today the first Georgian Peacekeeping Platoon was deployed to Kosovo to perform a peace support mission there. “Today we are celebrating Georgian Peacekeeper`s Day for the first time. Our military has been faithfully engaged in different international missions for 17 years led under the aegis of EU and NATO. I have just arrived from Afghanistan where I witnessed their professionalism and their international recognition. Each person in Georgia should know that they are fulfilling a very significant mission. It is the demonstration of the great trust in them and recognition of their professionalism. I am both happy and proud about this fact like any Georgian citizen,” stated Minister Levan Izoria.
Today, the Minister will also meet Georgian military peacekeepers who performed the first mission in Kosovo: “We are marking this day together with our partners. We have invited the platoon that carried out the first peacekeeping mission in Kosovo 17 years ago to meet with us. First of all I would like to thank all of them and all the military personnel who participated in this important mission.”
The Georgian Armed Forces have been participating in the international missions led under the auspices of EU and NATO since 1999. At this moment, the Georgian military contingent is involved in peace support operation as part of the Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan. One Georgian officer is also engaged in the EU military-training mission in Mali. (mod.gov.ge)
2006 mass deportation: Georgia helps its citizens get compensation from Russia
Georgia’s Justice Ministry has sent detailed information to the Strasbourg-based European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) about more than 1,700 Georgian nationals who were among the mass deportation of thousands of Georgians from Russia in 2006.
Today a high official from Georgia’s Justice Ministry said the identities and documents that proved the deportation of 1,775 Georgian citizens 10 years ago had been sent to the ECHR to help the compensation process advance.
The Ministry’s announcement referred to an incident in 2006 when the mass deportation of thousands of Georgian citizens from Russia took place following Russia-Georgia espionage controversy. In 2014 the ECHR ruled these actions by Russia were unlawful and demanded Russia to pay compensation to the affected Georgian families.
The mass deportation was preceded by the arrest of four Russian officers on charges of espionage by the previous government of Georgia in September 2006. In revenge, later in 2006 large numbers of Georgian nationals were mistreated in Russia.
Within this mistreatment several thousand ethnic Georgians were unlawfully arrested in Russia and expelled, which the Georgian side assessed as a "mild form of ethnic cleansing”.
In 2007, Georgia’s previous government filed a complaint to the ECHR in the name of 4,634 Georgians who were victims of the 2006 mass deportation. At that time Georgia only sent documents relating to 118 victims to Strasbourg.
The trial lasted for several years and in the meantime a new government formed in Georgia. The new Government intensified work for the ECHR so it could make a decision in favour of Georgia, not only for the initial 118 citizens but in all 4,634 cases.
On July 3, 2014 the ECHR announced its long-awaited verdict in favour of all 4,634 Georgian citizens and said Russia and Georgia now needed to reach an agreement on compensation.
To make the compensation possible Georgia needed to collect and send all information about the victims to Strasbourg.
Today Georgia’s Justice Ministry said it took "immense efforts” and "colossal work” to find the victims of the incident that took place 10 years ago. After finding the citizens, the Ministry collected documents that proved their deportation and sent them to the European Court.
The Ministry said it would be much easier and "logical” if the previous government had done that work when they filed the initial complaint to the ECHR in 2007 shortly after the incident happened.
The Justice Ministry also said it was ready to further cooperate with the European Court and provide any additional information or documentation needed for the affected Georgian citizen was to receive compensation from Russia. (agenda.ge)
Georgian prisoner escapes by feigning illness
It could have been a scene from a Hollywood movie, the moment when a prisoner escaped from Rustavi City Court on Wednesday.
According to reports, the escapee was in the waiting room for defendants when he said he was feeling sick.
An ambulance was called, but when the emergency crew arrived, he escaped while he was being tended to by medical personnel.
The Ministry of Corrections confirmed the truth of the amazing escape in a short statement.
The statement is accompanied by a photo of the escapee and a request that anyone who has information about this man should contact the ministry.
In February, 2015, a prisoner escaped from a court building in Gurjaani, but was caught a few days later in Batumi, a city in the southwest of Georgia not far from the Turkish border. (dfwatch.net)
August 31 has been declared Georgian Peacekeeper`s Day. With regard to this day, Defence Minister Levan Izoria and Chief of the GS Major-General Vakhtang Kapanadze laid a wreath on the Memorial of the Heroes who died fighting for the territorial integrity of Georgia and while performing peacekeeping operations. Deputy Ministers Lela Chikovani, Zaal Kapanadze and Giorgi Butkhuzi as well as Deputy Chief of the GS Giorgi Surmava, paid tribute to the memory of the fallen soldiers.
Georgian Peacekeeper`s Day was established by the decision of Defence Minister Levan Izoria. 17 years ago today the first Georgian Peacekeeping Platoon was deployed to Kosovo to perform a peace support mission there. “Today we are celebrating Georgian Peacekeeper`s Day for the first time. Our military has been faithfully engaged in different international missions for 17 years led under the aegis of EU and NATO. I have just arrived from Afghanistan where I witnessed their professionalism and their international recognition. Each person in Georgia should know that they are fulfilling a very significant mission. It is the demonstration of the great trust in them and recognition of their professionalism. I am both happy and proud about this fact like any Georgian citizen,” stated Minister Levan Izoria.
Today, the Minister will also meet Georgian military peacekeepers who performed the first mission in Kosovo: “We are marking this day together with our partners. We have invited the platoon that carried out the first peacekeeping mission in Kosovo 17 years ago to meet with us. First of all I would like to thank all of them and all the military personnel who participated in this important mission.”
The Georgian Armed Forces have been participating in the international missions led under the auspices of EU and NATO since 1999. At this moment, the Georgian military contingent is involved in peace support operation as part of the Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan. One Georgian officer is also engaged in the EU military-training mission in Mali. (mod.gov.ge)
2006 mass deportation: Georgia helps its citizens get compensation from Russia
Georgia’s Justice Ministry has sent detailed information to the Strasbourg-based European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) about more than 1,700 Georgian nationals who were among the mass deportation of thousands of Georgians from Russia in 2006.
Today a high official from Georgia’s Justice Ministry said the identities and documents that proved the deportation of 1,775 Georgian citizens 10 years ago had been sent to the ECHR to help the compensation process advance.
The Ministry’s announcement referred to an incident in 2006 when the mass deportation of thousands of Georgian citizens from Russia took place following Russia-Georgia espionage controversy. In 2014 the ECHR ruled these actions by Russia were unlawful and demanded Russia to pay compensation to the affected Georgian families.
The mass deportation was preceded by the arrest of four Russian officers on charges of espionage by the previous government of Georgia in September 2006. In revenge, later in 2006 large numbers of Georgian nationals were mistreated in Russia.
Within this mistreatment several thousand ethnic Georgians were unlawfully arrested in Russia and expelled, which the Georgian side assessed as a "mild form of ethnic cleansing”.
In 2007, Georgia’s previous government filed a complaint to the ECHR in the name of 4,634 Georgians who were victims of the 2006 mass deportation. At that time Georgia only sent documents relating to 118 victims to Strasbourg.
The trial lasted for several years and in the meantime a new government formed in Georgia. The new Government intensified work for the ECHR so it could make a decision in favour of Georgia, not only for the initial 118 citizens but in all 4,634 cases.
On July 3, 2014 the ECHR announced its long-awaited verdict in favour of all 4,634 Georgian citizens and said Russia and Georgia now needed to reach an agreement on compensation.
To make the compensation possible Georgia needed to collect and send all information about the victims to Strasbourg.
Today Georgia’s Justice Ministry said it took "immense efforts” and "colossal work” to find the victims of the incident that took place 10 years ago. After finding the citizens, the Ministry collected documents that proved their deportation and sent them to the European Court.
The Ministry said it would be much easier and "logical” if the previous government had done that work when they filed the initial complaint to the ECHR in 2007 shortly after the incident happened.
The Justice Ministry also said it was ready to further cooperate with the European Court and provide any additional information or documentation needed for the affected Georgian citizen was to receive compensation from Russia. (agenda.ge)
Georgian prisoner escapes by feigning illness
It could have been a scene from a Hollywood movie, the moment when a prisoner escaped from Rustavi City Court on Wednesday.
According to reports, the escapee was in the waiting room for defendants when he said he was feeling sick.
An ambulance was called, but when the emergency crew arrived, he escaped while he was being tended to by medical personnel.
The Ministry of Corrections confirmed the truth of the amazing escape in a short statement.
The statement is accompanied by a photo of the escapee and a request that anyone who has information about this man should contact the ministry.
In February, 2015, a prisoner escaped from a court building in Gurjaani, but was caught a few days later in Batumi, a city in the southwest of Georgia not far from the Turkish border. (dfwatch.net)