Action in support of those accused of robbing a pawnshop in Tbilisi

On Wednesday, a rally was held in front of the office of the Georgian Ombudsman in Tbilisi in support of Tsotne Mamulashvili and Jaba Lomidze, accused of robbing a pawnshop.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that according to investigators of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA), on January 21, 2013, Tsotne Mamulashvili, in a previous conspiracy with a car mechanic Jaba Lomidze, entered the pawnshop and forced the cashier, under threat of firearm, to give all the money to them. On February 13, investigators detained Jaba Lomidze; and on February 14, Tsotne Mamulashvili was brought to the police station.

The action in their support was organized by representatives of the civil society who are familiar with the Mamulashvili family by publications in the "Livejournal" and in the social network Facebook.

The participants of the rally delivered a statement to the Ombudsman concerning Jaba Lomidze. It is reported that Lomidze was forced to testify against himself, Tsotne Mamulashvili and two other defendants in the case, because he was exposed to beatings and torture during interrogation at the police station.

In March 2013, the rights defender Alex Shoshikelashvili took the defence of the rights of Jaba Lomidze and filed an application to the Ombudsman about the inhuman treatment of Lomidze. Similar applications were lodged to the General Prosecutor's Office and Georgia's General Inspectorate. However, as Alex Shoshikelashvili told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent, no official responses were received.

Let us remind you that at the court hearing on April 30 Tsotne Mamulashvili stated gross procedural violations admitted during his detention.

Earlier Mamulashvili's mother had claimed that her son was persecuted for political reasons, but the General Prosecutor's Office of Georgia stated that Tsotne Mamulashvili was detained in accordance with the law.