22:56, 13 February 2007

Georgia has not yet decided whether to suit Russia or not

On February 13, the interim parliamentary inquiry commission on the matters of Georgian citizens deported from the Russian Federation (RF), held its hearings.

The Minister of Justice said that the decision on lodging a complaint "Georgia versus Russia" to the European Court for Human Rights in relation to deportation from the RF of more than a thousand citizens of Georgia should be made till the end of March.

Mr. Giya Kavtaradze has assured the commission that the Ministry has gathered enough facts, evidences of eyewitnesses and records. But, as he said, the work of his Ministry at the given phase is "to draft, on the basis of the facts, a legal document for submission of a suit to the European Court."

Zurab Pataradze, Consul of Georgia in the Russian Federation, has stated that at present the situation for Georgian citizens in Russia has normalized.

On Friday, the parliament should ratify the conclusion of the commission. On Thursday, February 15, the parliament will discuss the draft of this conclusion.

Author: Alena Aleschenko, CK correspondent