Christian Democrats of Georgia: "Patriot's Act" is legalization of special agencies' lawlessness

Georgian MP Giya Tortladze has moved an initiative to adopt the "Patriot's Act". The document assumes to expand the rights of Georgian special agencies, organization of monitoring of air, sea and overland freights, financial transfers and borders of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, and reinforcement of the emigration control.

The Tortladze's initiative caused indignation of his oppositional colleagues.

"The 'Patriot's Act' strengthens the role of Georgian special agencies and gives them practically unlimited powers to undertake operative actions against political opponents," said Nikoloz Laliashvili, a member of the faction of Christian Democrats.

Today, the Christian Democrats have held a special press conference to this end. In the opinion of the members of parliamentary minority, the adoption of the Act will legalize the actions of special agencies directed at obtaining personal data, medical and financial records and at tapping telephone conversations.

"We view this initiative as a step back. Actions of Georgian special agencies are all the same illegal; we see a total control of citizens of Georgia; and by this Act we enable them to get legalized," Nika Laliashvili, a member of the faction, said to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

Giya Tortladze, the author of the Georgian "Patriot's Act", does not share his colleagues' fears. On September 11, 2001, the "Patriot's Act" was adopted in the USA in reply to terrorism. However, as Mr Tortladze said in his interview to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent, the Georgian document essentially differs from the American one.

"According to the American law, special agencies started mass tapping of telephones. Besides, they could come and search an apartment without notifying the owner. Our Act has nothing of the kind; and no tapping and apartment searches are envisioned in the Georgian version," Mr Tortladze has emphasized.

The MP has called his oppositional colleagues not to make hasty conclusions.