09TBILISI1243, GEORGIA: AMBASSADOR DISCUSSES RULE OF LAW WITH

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Reference ID	Created	Released	Classification	Origin
09TBILISI1243	2009-07-07 12:37	2011-08-30 01:44	CONFIDENTIAL	Embassy Tbilisi

VZCZCXRO4923
OO RUEHDBU RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHNP RUEHROV RUEHSL RUEHSR
DE RUEHSI #1243 1881237
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 071237Z JUL 09
FM AMEMBASSY TBILISI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1870
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/OSD WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L TBILISI 001243 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/07/2019 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL GG
SUBJECT: GEORGIA: AMBASSADOR DISCUSSES RULE OF LAW WITH 
MINISTER OF JUSTICE 
 
Classified By: AMBASSADOR JOHN F. TEFFT.  REASONS:  1.4 (B) AND (D). 
 
¶1.  (C)  Summary:  The Ambassador met with Minister of 
Justice Zurab Adeishvili on July 6 to discuss USG assistance 
in apprehending a wanted former advisor to President 
Shevardnadze, Temur Basilia.  Basilia is believed to be in 
the U.S.  The Ambassador took the opportunity to raise a 
number of issues involving the rule of law and democratic 
reforms including: adoption of the criminal procedure code, 
implementation of jury trials, and handling protest-related 
arrests and prosecutions in a fair, open and transparent 
manner.  End Summary. 
 
Adeishvili Requests USG Assistance 
 
¶2.  (C)  Adeishvili asked the Ambassador for help in 
locating, arresting, and possibly deporting Temur Basilia to 
Georgia for prosecution in connection with his alleged role 
in rampant corruption (among other crimes) during the 
Shevardnadze presidency.  Adeishvili said the GoG had lost 
track of Basilia, but that he recently reappeared at a press 
conference in the U.S. where he asked questions. 
Adeishvili's deputy, Tina Burjaliani and MoIA representatives 
have scheduled a meeting with Post's Legatt to discuss the 
matter in greater detail. 
 
Ambassador Stresses Need for Democratic Reforms - Rule of Law 
 
¶3.  (C)  The Ambassador raised the issue of transparency in 
prosecutions and specifically raised concerns about recent 
reports of financial police targeting businesses, especially 
those who might support the political opposition.  Adeishvili 
said that the financial police were in fact stepping up 
enforcement across the board to collect what the GoG believed 
was a significant portion of revenue that businesses were 
either avoiding or evading paying.  As evidence that the 
effort was not politically motivated, Adeishvili told the 
Ambassador that a sitting MP from the UNM has a business in 
tax arrears (USD 10 million) that was being shut down. 
Adeishvili indicated this was just one of many 
counter-examples to the claim that the Ministry was only 
pursuing prosecutions and tax enforcement against opposition 
political party supporters.  Adeishvili noted that the 
Ministry was losing, in his estimation, roughly 50 percent of 
tax cases on appeal, so it could not be accurately said that 
the executive has unchecked control over a compliant 
judiciary. 
 
¶4.  (C)  Adeishvili agreed that the government need to handle 
the aftermath of the protests in a restrained manner, just as 
it had the protests.  The Ambassador emphasized that there 
could be no criminal retribution for legitimate political 
protests.  Adeishvili said that he was willing to assist Post 
in any way with its inquiries into specific cases or 
incidents.  Adeishvili dismissed claims from the opposition 
about activists being targeted, saying that drugs and guns 
were a problem in Georgia amounting to a few thousand arrests 
a month across the country.  Adeishvili said that 
statistically it could be expected that a percentage of those 
arrested would be opposition supporters.  Adeishvili also 
said anecdotally a number of run-of-the-mill arrestees claim 
they are opposition members upon arrest to try to gain some 
sort of bargaining leverage in the hopes the authorities 
would treat them less severely for fear of international 
criticism. 
 
¶5.  (C)  Adeishvili expected the criminal procedure code 
would have its second reading in the Parliament in July.  The 
Ambassador hoped it would be passed before President Biden's 
visit.  Its final reading is scheduled for September, when 
Qvisit.  Its final reading is scheduled for September, when 
the code will hopefully be adopted.  He said the Ministry of 
Justice expected to start its pilot program on jury trials 
roughly a year after the criminal code is adopted, meaning 
approximately September 2010.  Adeishvili said that the 
current draft law pending in Parliament regarding protests 
was not meant to be pushed through quickly in anticipation of 
the Vice Presidential visit, but rather was simply clarifying 
certain ambiguities in the current law.  Adeishvili said the 
law would likely not be passed until later this fall. 
Adeishvili expressed his gratitude for USG assistance in 
training, noting the utility and success of the programs. 
TEFFT

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