GEORGIA UPDATE, OCTOBER 17

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MOSCOW 011629

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/17/2016
TAGS: PREL MARR PREF GG RS
SUBJECT: GEORGIA UPDATE, OCTOBER 17

REF: MOSCOW 11582 AND PREVIOUS

Classified By: AMBASSADOR WILLIAM J. BURNS. Reason 1.4 (b, d)

Summary
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1. (C) A Georgian detainee from St. Petersburg died of an
asthma attack as he waited at a Moscow airport to board the
plane deporting him to Georgia. This was the third plane to
deport Georgians, bringing the number of deported to over

400. Some 300 more Georgians have received deportation
orders. Liberal NGOs continue their criticism of government
policy, and the Governor of St. Petersburg has added her
cautionary voice to the chorus. End summary.

Deportation and Death
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2. (SBU) 58 year-old Tengiz Taganadze died of an asthma
attack October 17 as he waited in Moscow's Domodedovo airport
to board the Ministry of Emergency Situations (MChS) airplane
deporting him to Tbilisi. The Georgian Consul reported the
death from the airport where he was carrying out duties
relative to the deportation, and Russian officials confirmed
the report to the news media. Taganadze had spent five days
at the "Reception Center" where detainees were being held in
St. Petersburg before being bussed with other St. Petersburg
deportees to Domodedovo.


3. (SBU) Today's was the third deportation flight. It
carried about 150 Georgians, including 41 from St. Petersburg
(not including Taganadze),the rest being from Moscow city
and district. According to the Georgian Embassy, a total of
682 Georgians have been served with deportation orders in the
Moscow and St. Petersburg regions. 136 were deported on
October 6 and 119 on October 10. Today's flight, with about
150 deportees, brings the total deported so far to over 400,
leaving close to 300 awaiting deportation in the Moscow and
St. Petersburg districts. According to the Georgian Embassy,
35 Georgians have been detained in Kaliningrad District; 22
have received deportation orders and the cases of the other
13 are under consideration. An unknown number of Georgians
have received deportation orders in other regions such as
Krasnodar.

Chorus of Dissent at Harassment
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4. (U) St. Petersburg Governor Matviyenko told a press
conference October 17 that the campaign against ethnic
Georgians should not go too far, adding that "there is no
room for abuse." While calling for the enforcement of
immigration laws, she said that should be done "regardless
of...nationality."


5. (C) Lyudmila Alekseyeva, the director of Moscow Helsinki
Group, condemned the campaign against ethnic Georgians as
"sheer idiocy." It was crystal clear, she noted, that this
was an anti-Georgian campaign that did not extend to other
nationalities illegally residing and working in Moscow. The
law enforcement organs were not even arresting the Azeris
caught up in the Georgian net. Like many liberal
commentators, Alekseyeva noted the unintended consequences of
the GOR actions: Georgians, deeply offended by their
treatment in Russian hands, were rallying around Saakashvili.


6. (C) Svetlana Gannushkina, chair of the migrants' rights
NGO Civic Assistance, told us October 16 that the NGO has
received numerous requests for assistance from Georgians
seeking to remain in Russia. The NGO has collected
information indicating widespread violations of rights and
regulations by police and the courts, including illegal
detentions, cancellation of visas or refusal to extend
registration on ethnic grounds, and denial of access to
attorneys during deportation proceedings. In Ivanovo, Civic
Assistance reported, police, tax inspectors, and other
authorities were checking all those with Georgian family
names or who appeared to be ethnic Georgians, and
schoolchildren with Georgian surnames were being asked were
they were born and where their parents were.


7. (C) The Georgian Embassy claimed to us that of the 255
Georgians on the first two flights, about 50 were deported
despite having valid visas and registration. Both Alekseyeva
and Gannushkina independently made similar claims.
Alekseyeva told us that she has been involved in resolving
individual cases, using connections with Moscow police to
free several Georgians who were slated for deportation
despite having valid visas and work permits. She enumerated
several cases of legitimate workers and students in Moscow
who were deported summarily, and attributed this to police
officers under pressure to fulfill and over-fulfill the

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"plan." They were abetted by compliant courts, and
Alekseyeva stressed that the entire campaign revealed again
the weakness of the Russian judiciary. Gannushkina similarly
said that many Georgians appear to be staying off the streets
to avoid police, as having a valid visa or registration is
sometimes insufficient protection from deportation. She
cited a Moscow case in which five Georgians, all with valid
visas and registration, were arrested and sent to deportation
proceedings October 11. By October 15 three had been
deported, with deportation pending for the other two.


BURNS