Tbilisi, February 20, 1995

The trial of Gelbakhiani, Dokvadze, Domukhovsky and others has gone on for almost two years now. At the trial, which is now coming to a close, the procurator demanded capital punishment for two defendants: execution.

It is clear, that judging someone guilty, let alone sentencing him to death, must take place only under conditions which all due process norms are observed. The rights of the defendants and, more important, the trial process and sentencing cannot be based on illegal methods, including on testimony extracted through physical abuse of the defendants. All the more so that learning the truth and of course determining guilt are impossible if such methods are used. Unfortunately, during the course of the given trial - both during investigation and during the court hearings - there were numerous violations, over which many international human rights organizations, such as Human Rights Watch/Helsinki, Amnesty International, International Human Rights Organization and others have expressed concern and protest.

In light of the above, and because of humanitarian considerations, we believe it is inadmissible to hand down a death sentence to any of the defendants under such conditions.

[Text signed by 116 members of the Georgian Parliament]