MAIA TOPURIA CASE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TBILISI 002139

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EUR/CARC AND DRL

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/27/2017
TAGS: PGOV PREL GG
SUBJECT: MAIA TOPURIA CASE

REF: 2006 TBILISI 1630

Classified By: Ambassador John F. Tefft, for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C). Summary: On August 24, the Tbilisi City Court found
all 13 defendants accused of plotting to overthrow the
country's leadership in September 2006 guilty. Most of the 13
are linked with Igor Giorgadze's Justice Party. Igor
Giorgadze is a Georgian fugitive wanted for attempted murder
of President Eduard Shevardnadze in 1995. Georgian officials
say Russia finances the Justice Party. Giorgadze's niece,
Maia Topuria, was one of the 13 sentenced to eight and half
years imprisonment. Her U.S. counsel questioned the legality
of closing the case to the public and of witness statements,
which they claimed were remarkably similar. American Bar
Association (ABA) Central Eastern European Law Initiative
(CEELI) analysis of the case concludes that closing the
courtroom is allowed under Georgian Law and is also
consistent with international law. Prosecutor General
Adeishvili was adamant that irrefutable evidence tied the 13
defendants to the necessary criminal elements and that
closing the court was a measured and justified response.
Public response to the verdict is muted: aside from a brief
mention during an Imedi television broadcast on Friday
evening, and a small article buried deep within one local
newspaper today, lack of public outcry is surprising, given
the very strong advocacy of her legal defense to raise the
profile of the case in Washington and European capitals. End
Summary.

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The Verdict...Guilty
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2. (C) On August 24, the Tbilisi City Court found 13
defendants guilty of plotting to overthrow the Georgian
government in September 2006. Most of the 13 are linked
with Igor Giorgadze's Justice Party. Igor Giorgadze is a
Georgian fugitive wanted for the attempted assassination of
President Eduard Shevardnadze in 1995. Georgian officials
say Russia finances the Justice Party. Giorgadze's niece,
Maia Topuria, was one of the 13 sentenced to eight and a half
years imprisonment. Those sentenced have the right to appeal
the judgment to the Court of Appeals one month after
sentencing. The court's legal reasoning for finding the
defendants guilty will be published in two weeks as required
by Georgian law.

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Drilling Down to the Crux
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3. (C) Post met with Topuria's counsel, Mr. Larry Barbella
and Ms. Melinda Serafa on at least three occasions. Both
lawyers claimed there were serious procedural irregularities
with the case which would result in an unfair trial. First,
they objected to closing the courtroom to the public. They
stated that the judge could close the courtroom to protect
the identity the of witness or national security. However,
they negated the validity of this reasoning stating that the
witnesses' names appeared in open media almost daily. They
also claimed that no state secrets were revealed during the
case. (Interestingly, ABA/CEELI concluded that the GoG was
well within its domestic and international rights to close
the case.) Secondly, counsel claimed that witness statements
appeared to them to be blatantly coached, as the testimony,
regardless of witness, they claimed, was virtually the same,
word for word. Thirdly, counsel argued that the trial judge
violated the nine month rule. The nine month rule requires a
detainee to be released if he/she is not sentenced within the
nine month timeframe they believe applicable. Barbella and
Serafa both said that the judge arbitrarily chose the
detention start date as other than was proscribed by the
Constitution and the Criminal Procedure Code. The result was
that the court illegally detained their client. As instructed
by Washington, we told Topuria's counsel that post is not in
a position to comment on the merits of the decision to close
the trial, and that the Department's policy is not to
interfere or comment on ongoing cases. We noted that the
information could be used in our annual Human Rights Report,
if a clear violation of human rights occurred. We encouraged
Topuria's counsel to seek redress of procedural
irregularities with the Prosecutor General and the Public
Defender offices.

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The Georgian Perspective
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4. (C) Ambassador and DAS Bryza both raised concerns with
Prosecutor General Adeishvili about the international
community's perceptions of procedural improprieties in the
Topuria case and advocated for increased transparency. He

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was adamant that irrefutable evidence proved the 13 guilty of
the charged crimes and closing the court was a measured and
justified response. Adeishvili's office rejects the argument
that closing the proceedings denied the defendants' rights
under Georgian law. Defense lawyers have had full access to
their clients, full access to the evidence, and full access
to court proceedings. Both Post and DAS reminded Adeishvili
that he may well be within the legal boundaries to close the
trial, but international misperceptions could have an
influence on their strategic goals, such as confidence in
the rule NATO membership. Both stressed that any decisions
need to be procedurally perfect to withstand scrutiny.

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No ROL backsliding Here
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5. (C) ABA/CEELI analysis of the case is that closure of the
courtroom is clearly allowed under Georgian Law, which is
consistent with international law. Observers on the ground
believe that the rule of law is moving forward in Georgia and
do not believe the case is not indicative of widespread
backsliding.

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The Mouse that Roared
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6. (C) Public response to the verdict is muted: aside from a
brief mention during an Imedi television broadcast on Friday
evening, and a small article buried deep within one local
newspaper today, lack of public outcry is surprising, given
Topuria's legal team's very strong efforts to raise the
profile of the case. Unlike the Girgvliani case, where there
was a large Georgian civil society and press outcry,
sentencing in the Topuria cases hasn't raised any discernible
public eyebrows (reftel A).

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Comment
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7. (C) The verdict in the Topuria case is not surprising
given the gravity of the case. What is surprising is the
lack of public reaction in the form of media coverage. True,
Giorgadze's party is neither popular in Georgia nor well
supported. Perhaps the lack of strong response is due to the
fact that Topuria's counsel dedicated many resources to her
defense, but targeted those whom they felt could sway
Georgia's decision makers--with influential people in
Washington and Europe--rather than on Georgian popular
opinion. The question of who is funding Topuria's defense,
which includes two Washington lawyers traveling back and
forth to Tbilisi and Europe and a lobbyist remains a
question, although there is considerable speculation that the
Russian government is paying.


8. (C) ABA/CEELI's analysis reflects that of post in that
Georgia is not where it needs to be on judicial reform, but
is well on the way. While we strongly believe that Georgia
should be mindful of international opinion as this ultimately
will support or complicate her entry into NATO, we support a
judicial system that is free from executive or third party
interference. All our training in the judicial realm here
fully supports this independence and any other approach would
countermand the accountability to which we urge the Georgians
to aspire.


9. (C) Although Topuria's counsel has arguably demonstrated
a strong advocacy for their client, no other nongovernmental
organization or disinterested party has come forth to voice
the same concerns. In fact, ABA/CEELI specifically
recognizes that the GoG acted within its right to close the
trial.
TEFFT