Prosecutor’s office says ECHR ruling confirms “no question marks” over conviction of cleric

The Georgian prosecutor general’s office on Thursday said the recent ruling of the European Court of Human Rights, which found no violation of the right to fair trial in the case of a convicted Georgian clergyman, confirmed domestic agencies had acted “in full accordance” with mandatory procedures in the conviction.

• European court: convicted Georgian cleric’s right to fair trial not violated

The body cited the court in saying “obtaining and use of evidence in conviction of archpriest for preparation of murder of patriarch’s personal secretary” was “not contrary to fair trial requirements”, and expressed readiness to ensure the enforcement of the court’s separate judgement over compensation for the individual. 

In comments on the compensation ruling for cleric Giorgi Mamaladze, who was sentenced to nine years in prison for plotting a murder and illegal possession of firearms in 2017, the body highlighted the state had been ordered to pay ₾9,418 ($3,400) to the applicant instead of the ₾800,000 ($288,000) requested by the applicant.

While finding no violation of the right to fair trial, the ECHR however said the closure of the trials to the public had been a violation of the human rights convention, and that public officials and prosecuting authorities had breached the presumption of innocence in their statements over the clergyman, ordering the state to pay compensation for legal expenses to the applicant. 

Mamaladze was arrested in early February 2017 at the Tbilisi international airport, with police officers discovering cyanide poison in his belongings during the search. The interior ministry later said the clergyman had plotted the murder of Shorena Tetruashvili, the patriarch’s secretary. 

The cleric refused to plead guilty and said Tetruashvili and other high-ranking clerics had planned his arrest due to his possession of information about financial violations at the patriarchate.