Hotline2 405 505

News

Friday, 30 September , 2022
Share

The Minister of Justice of Georgia Discusses Prospects of Deepening Mutual Cooperation with His Estonian Counterpart

The issues of expanding the relationship between the Ministries of Justice of Georgia and Estonia and the European integration of Georgia were discussed today by the ministers of justice of the two countries at a meeting held in Dublin.

Rati Bregadze is in Ireland to participate in the ministerial meetings of the member states of the Council of Europe.

Rati Bregadze spoke to Lea Danilson-Järg about further deepening of the partnership between the two countries' ministries of justice and the signing of a memorandum. For this purpose, he invited his Estonian counterpart to Tbilisi. According to Rati Bregadze, the document will create a solid basis for close cooperation in the field of justice, rule of law and human rights and will support the immediate implementation of new initiatives.

At the meeting, Rati Bregadze thanked Lea Danilson-Järg for the help provided by Estonia to Georgia on the path of integration with the European Union and expressed confidence that our country will continue to have strong support from Estonia in the process of obtaining the status of a candidate country for the European Union.

"We had an interesting dialogue with the Estonian colleague about the current relations and specific perspectives for future cooperation. Estonia is a friendly and supportive state of Georgia. Accordingly, we express our hope that joint efforts aimed at further strengthening of legal cooperation will definitely bring success on the path of European integration of Georgia", said Rati Bregadze after the meeting.

The Minister of Justice of Estonia emphasized the "amazing progress" that Georgia has achieved on the path to European integration:

"Georgia has made great progress in the European integration process. It really deserves to become part of Europe, the European Union, and I really hope that it will happen in the near future, because the progress is really amazing.”

The meeting was also attended by First Deputy Minister of Justice of Georgia, Tamar Tkeshelashvili and Deputy Minister, Beka Dzamashvili.

Other News

Share
Print

Strasbourg Court Confirms Davit Kezerashvili’s Guilt in Embezzling Georgian Army Funds, Rejects Claims of Political Persecution

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has issued its decision in the case of Davit Kezerashvili v. Georgia. At a briefing, Justice Minister Anri Okhanashvili discussed the ruling, which upheld the verdict against Kezerashvili.

“The Court concluded that, while serving as Defense Minister shortly before the August 2008 war, Davit Kezerashvili embezzled €5,060,000 (approximately 15 million GEL at today's exchange rate) intended for the Georgian army. It also determined there was no political persecution involved in his prosecution. The Supreme Court of Georgia's verdict finding Kezerashvili guilty was deemed well-founded, and no violation of the presumption of innocence was found,” Okhanashvili stated.

Okhanashvili outlined the fraudulent activities carried out by Kezerashvili:

"During his tenure as Defense Minister, Kezerashvili unlawfully signed a fictitious agreement with an offshore company in a single day to provide combat training for the Georgian army. This agreement bypassed the General Staff of the Defense Forces. In reality, no training occurred, and the €5,060,000 allocated for the Georgian army was deliberately misappropriated."

Anri Okhanashvili emphasized that the Court also dismissed Kezerashvili’s demand for €15,000 in moral damages. Kezerashvili, who enriched himself by defrauding the Georgian army, sought additional compensation for moral damage. The Strasbourg Court firmly rejected this claim. It confirmed the seriousness of Kezerashvili’s crime and upheld the Supreme Court of Georgia's ruling as lawful.

The Justice Minister congratulated the Georgian state and armed forces on their success in the European Court and acknowledged those who defended Georgia’s interests:


“I congratulate the Georgian state, army, and people on this significant victory. I extend my gratitude to the Ministry of Justice staff and the Prosecutor’s Office for their dedicated work. We now look forward to seeing how our European partners, particularly those who previously characterized Kezerashvili as a media advocate, respond to this decision affirming his guilt,” Okhanashvili remarked.