Call for release of newspaper editor held on drugs and firearms charges

Reporters Without Borders voiced doubts today about the legality of the arrest of journalist Revaz Okruashvili who was detained on 2 August and two days later was placed in provisional custody for three months on charges of drug trafficking and illegal possession of firearms. The organisation said it was all the more sceptical about the arrest as Okruashvili, who edits the weekly Khakhis Gazeti (People's Newspaper) in Gori (about 70 km from Tbilissi), is well known for his articles criticising the local authorities. "We call on you to ensure that judicial procedure is strictly respected in this case as there are many doubts about the accuracy of the charges against Revaz Okruashvili," Reporters Without Borders said in a letter to state prosecutor Zurab Adeishvili. "In view of the legal irregularities already observed and in the absence of solid evidence to support these charges, we urge you to release him." Okruashvili was detained, forced to the ground and handcuffed as he was going to the newspaper's office on the evening of 2 August. The police said they found 0.29 grams of heroin on him. His lawyer, Mamuka Nozadze, said the arrest was illegal because of many procedural irregularities. Also, a medical examination did not support police claims that he had taken drugs. Police claim to have found two packets of heroin in a simultaneous search of the newspaper's offices, but the discovery took place as the police were alone in an office, which under the law invalidates the results of the search. The heroin was supposedly found on a coffee tray and employees said the police opened no drawers. Also, under Georgian law, the police are required to show a report of the search to the persons concerned, and this was not done. The police also searched Okruashvili's home. His wife, Nino Dalakishvili, a journalist with the local TV station Trialeti, said they came without a warrant and did not obtain one until two hours later. In the course of this search, they confiscated a hunting rifle that belongs to a friend and cartridges. Dalakishvili said: "My husband has never touched drugs or firearms... All the town knows that. He sold his house to finance the newspaper and ran up debts. This charge is utterly absurd and insulting." She blamed his arrest on the many articles he has published criticising the activities of the local authorities. His arrest has prompted many protests from civil society and regional news media criticising what has been called "an open provocation" against the independent press. Khakhis Gazeti deputy editor Vasil Guleuri said the authorities were especially irked by recent articles in the newspaper criticising Mikhael Kareli, the regional representative of President Saakashvili. "What's more, we regularly report allegations of human rights abuses by the authorities and the way presidential subsidies are spent." At the second of two press conferences he has given in support of Okruashvili, the president of the Association of Young Georgian Lawyers, Tinatin Khidasheli, said on 5 August that Okruashvili was arrested "solely because he is the editor of the most critical newspaper in the Shida Kartli region."