Bidzina Ivanishvili’s court has decided to conceal the injustice taking place during the court hearings of political prisoners — to hide it from the Georgian public and, internationally, from the global community. Public access and open hearings are essential conditions for a fair trial, but today we do not have a fair court – said Tengo Tevzadze, one of the leaders of the "Coalition for Change."
According to him, Georgian Dream is unable to ensure public access to court hearings or guarantee a fair trial for society.
"For months we’ve been witnessing that the regime and its judiciary are not allowing OSCE/ODIHR representatives to observe and monitor court hearings. Today, at the court sessions of 11 political prisoners, their lawyers requested the presence of ODIHR representatives, but the court is not allowing it.
Bidzina Ivanishvili’s court has decided to hide the injustice taking place during political prisoners’ court proceedings — to conceal it from the Georgian people domestically, and from the international community abroad. First, they banned photo and video recordings; then judges started threatening lawyers, family members, and attendees that if any photo or video from the courtroom is shared on social media, the hearings will be closed to the public. This clearly shows how Georgian Dream and Bidzina Ivanishvili want to cover up the injustice occurring in the judiciary. Publicity and open hearings are necessary elements of a fair trial, and today we lack both.
We call on the OSCE/ODIHR observation mission to not only focus on monitoring the process, but also to respond when monitoring is obstructed or prohibited. We are currently living under a dictatorial regime; Georgian Dream does not provide the public with fair trials, cannot ensure open court proceedings, and political prisoners face 4, 7, or even 10 years in prison based on fabricated charges,” – said Tengo Tevzadze.
For context, Giorgi Burjanadze, legal advisor to the Center for Civil Society, stated that despite OSCE/ODIHR’s readiness to monitor the court proceedings of detainees, Georgian Dream is not allowing it.
“ODIHR was invited to Georgia in December 2024 by Salome Zurabishvili to observe cases of political prisoners. According to ODIHR methodology, the court must allow their participation and provide formal consent. Since December, this consent has not been granted. ODIHR is ready to carry out monitoring of these cases as soon as approval is given. This becomes especially important now that hearings are being closed. In 2013, Georgian Dream itself invited ODIHR to monitor trials — so the question is, if they had nothing to hide then, what are they hiding now?” said Giorgi Burjanadze.
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