Ruling party unhappy with recent presidential pardons, offers legal changes
President Salome Zurabishvili has been criticised for pardoning a man who was convicted for premediated murder. Photo: President’s press office.
Tweet 
Share
Ruling Georgian Dream party members say that legal changes are needed to specify all the procedures and preconditions for the presidential pardon of inmates.
The statements come after two scandalous pardons by President Salome Zurabishvili, one when she pardoned a man who was sentenced for the murder of a police officer and another, which took place two weeks ago, when a man also convicted for murder was pardoned.
When it comes to the pardon of prisoners nobody, including the president, must act based on their own view. There must be clear preconditions to allow the pardon,” member of the ruling Georgian Dream party Giorgi Volski said.
Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze stated that pardoning of the murderer of David Otkhmezuri [the pardon which took place two weeks ago] was “unacceptable,” adding that the president is not also against the legal changes to regulate the pardon issue.
Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze says that changes in the law are required to avoid problems in the pardon issue. Photo: Kakha Kaladze's press office.
Aslan Bezhanidze was convicted for the premediated murder of Otkhmezuri in 2016. The incident took place back in 2004 when Bezhanidze killed Otkhmezuri during a dispute about a mobile phone in central Tbilisi, the Prosecutor’s Office reported in 2016.
Bezhanidze’s lawyer confirmed that the man was pardoned by the president two weeks ago and the decision was “fair.”
In March 2019, during her speech in parliament, Zurabishvili said that the pardon commission, which was subordinated to the president [the president is the only authorised official to pardon inmates in Georgia], could move under the control of the Ministry of Justice, with more state agencies involved in the discussion of applications for pardon.
She said that the president would make a final decision on pardon.
- The President’s Pardon Commission [under previous presidents] was composed of 11 individuals, mainly lawyers from the civil sector, public figures, the Public Defender and a spiritual representative from Georgia’s Patriarchate.
- The group must have discussed all cases sent to the Pardon Commission by inmates or their families and decide which prisoners they believe deserve to be pardoned. The list then was sent to the president to be signed.
- After the election of Zurabishvili as the president [at the end of 2018] members of the pardon commission were either dismissed or they quit posts themselves. The commission has not been functional since the beginning of the year.
The First female President of Georgia Salome Zurabishvili has issued her first pardon decree and has pardoned three female inmates.
Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili has made her first official comment on pardoning an individual who has been charged with murdering a police officer. Zurabishvili said yesterday that she is sorry that the act of pardoning, which is a ”human act” in its nature, has become the cause of misunderstanding.
The candidate for interior minister and current head of the State Security Service Vakhtang Gomelauri said it is unacceptable for him to pardon an individual who has been charged with murdering a police officer.
Eight prisoners left the penitentiary facilities immediately on May 24. The other four, including a female, were on probation and have been released from all restrictions.
Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili has declared a moratorium on pardoning prisoners until all rules and procedures are clarified. In doing so Zurabishvili is responding to recent turmoil surrounding two pardons of inmates convicted for intentional murder.
The Georgian Chief Prosecutor’s Office has launched an investigation looking into possible misuse of authority in the pardon cases of former convicts Ramaz Devadze, Aslan Bezhanidze, Zurab Nadiradze and ‘others.’ All of the three individuals, convicted for murder, have been pardoned by President Salome Zuravbishvili.
Ruling Georgian Dream party MP Giorgi Volski says that if necessary, Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili will be summoned for questioning per the ongoing investigation into pardon issues.
Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili will issue a pardon decree on Orthodox Christmas on January 7 after a several-month moratorium on acts of amnesty.
Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili has pardoned five inmates for Christmas, with convicted archpriest Giorgi Mamaladze not on the list. It is the first pardon act issued by the president after she declared a moratorium on pardoning prisoners in September 2019, following a turmoil surrounding two pardons of inmates convicted for murder.
Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili has issued a pardon decree on the occasion of Annunciation holiday, releasing nine female prisoners. All the pardoned women have one or more minor children, and they did not commit violent crimes.