Tugushi: Barbakadze is tried with violations in Georgia

On January 10, the City Court of Akhaltsikh postponed its session on the case of Suleiman Barbakadze, former chairman of the International Fund for Repatriation of Meskhetian Turks in Georgia, who is accused of a fraud.

The session failed because Barbakadze's advocate could not appear at the court.
The complaint against Barbakadze was filed by former owners of the house in Akhaltsikh (the administrative centre of the Samtskhe-Javakheti District of Georgia), which was bought by Barbakadze some time ago. They believe that Barbakadze had fraudulently taken possession of their property. Barbakadze, who is a Russian citizen, was detained on July 26, 2010.

"The Barbakadze's case is a part of the campaign against return of the Meskhetians, where ethnic Turks were the majority, evicted in 1943, back to Georgia," Emil Adelkhanov, a rights defender and a member of the Amnesty International, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

He said that during the investigation Barbakadze was kept at the Gldani detention facility in Tbilisi. In November-December he underwent a surgery performed by doctors at the central prison hospital.

As it became known to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent, on December 29 Barbakadze's advocate tried to agree with the prosecutor about the procedural agreement with the aim to soften the sentence or release the defendant from custody. However, the prosecutor flatly rejected any agreements.

Giorgi Tugushi, Ombudsman of Georgia, visited Barbakadze in prison. "The trial of Suleiman Barbakadze is conducted with violations and requires special attention," he said.

So far, there are no comments from the prosecution and managers of the detention facility in Gldani, where Barbakadze was kept after his surgery.