CAUCASIAN KNOT / NEWS
10/11/2008
Suer Belassain, President of the International Federation of Human Rights (French abbreviation – FIDH), asserts that the current situation with defence of human rights in Georgia is extremely complicated. She told the “Caucasian Knot” correspondent about it in her interview on November 10 in Tbilisi after the FIDH regional seminar “National, Regional and International Legal Remedies for Victims of Human Rights Violations”.
“The situation with human rights in Georgia develops more likely to the worst than to the best, since there were victims of war, and Georgia didn’t want it,” Ms Belassain has stated.
She has especially emphasized the status of involuntarily displaced persons who lost their houses as a result of the August events, the problem of political prisoners and instrumentalization of justice.
Suer Belassain has told about her meeting with refugees accommodated in the building of the former Transcaucasian Military District, where more than 1500 persons now live. “The building in an awful condition, windows are off, there are no showers; I can’t imagine them living there in winter, as there’re pretty many children and elderly people among them,” said the FIDH President.
She has ranked the problem of political prisoners second by importance in the area of human rights and treated the number of them as too large. “As to political prisoners, I know that four most resonant cases exist – those of Nora Kvitsiani, Maya Topuria, Omar Kutsnashvili and of the militaries who were imprisoned after the August events. As well as the case of Roman Shavadze, where torture was stated openly and universally recognized. These cases are our priority, and I’ll strive for releasing these people,” said Ms Belassain.
See earlier reports: “FIDH Final declaration on Georgia,” “Next action of Georgia opposition planned for November 23,” “Tatiana Kasatkina: Georgian population leaves South-Ossetian Akhalgori District,” “Georgian authorities build villages for South Ossetian refugees.”
