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 -------------- ¶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 -------------- ¶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 -------------- ¶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 MOSCOW 00011629 002 OF 002 "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