11:35, 24 August 2010

Relatives of Meskhetian Turks' leader, who was arrested in Georgia, address rights defenders for help

Details of the charge presented to Suleiman Barbakadze, a citizen of Russia and Georgia and president of the "Vatan" International Society of Meskhetian Turks, arrested on July 26 in Georgia, have become known.

According to his relatives, two years ago Suleiman Barbakadze, willing to set an example of legal return of Meskhetian Turks to their historical homeland, bought a house in Akhaltsikh. Recently, the former hostess of the house wrote a complaint to law enforcement bodies that her house was bought too cheaply. She demands to return the house and pay a huge sum of money to cover her trip to Russia, the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial" reports.

Suleiman Barbakadze presented all the documents confirming his ownership of the house to the inspector; and then he was arrested. Unfortunately, Barbakadze does not speak the Georgian language. In the opinion of his relatives, Barbakadze's advocate does not act in his interests.

Relatives of Suleiman Barbakadze made a special statement, which treats his arrest as a political provocation and ask help from the human rights community.