Print this pageFor Immediate Release
August 17, 2000
Mob attacks journalists and Jehovah’s Witnesses in Republic of Georgia courtroom
On Wednesday, a mob of 80 Orthodox extremists, wielding metal crosses and icons, burst into a packed courtroom in Tbilisi, Georgia, attacking journalists, a Canadian lawyer and members of Jehovah’s Witnesses who were in the courtroom. Led by defrocked Georgian Orthodox priest Basil Mkalavishvili, the mob screamed, pulled people off seats and threatened to strike others in the head with an eight-foot-high cross.
The hearing is scheduled to continue today.
The court case involved a previous mob attack by Basil’s followers. Ironically, prosecutors are charging one of the victims, Mirian Arabidze, with hooliganism. Arabidze was one of 16 Jehovah’s Witnesses who required hospital treatment following an attack on October 17, 1999.
On Wednesday, the mob burst into the courtroom after the testimony of Tsiun Mgebrishvili, an Orthodox woman accused of sharing in the earlier attack.
“The extremists stormed into the courtroom soon after Judge Tamazi Sabiashvili called a brief recess,” said Warren Shewfelt, a Canadian minister for Jehovah’s Witnesses. “Within a few minutes, I was surrounded by about five men and women, chanting and shouting insults. One six-foot-six mobster yanked me off my seat, and two women tore my shirt and wrenched my arm. They were livid, and I barely escaped without further injuries. Although present, the security guards only watched.”
The mob carried banners saying, “Gldani Orthodox Eparchy Damns the Satanic Jehovist Sect.” Among those pushed and threatened by the mob were Radio Liberty reporter Sozar Subeliani and Canadian human rights lawyer John Burns. “These extremists were ready to draw blood to get us out of the courtroom,” said Burns. “We got the message and left. I was surprised that the judge turned down the motion of local attorney Mamuka Tchabashvili for an adjournment and change of venue. These extremists used violence to take over the courtroom and to chase off peaceful Georgian citizens. How can a fair hearing proceed in the face of open mob rule?”
Since October 17, 1999, there have been at least eight violent attacks on members of Jehovah’s Witnesses by religious extremists. Tsiun Mgebrishvili testified in court, “I am so angry at them [Jehovah’s Witnesses] that if I meet one now I will burn not only his literature, but I will burn his clothes and run him off naked. . . . If necessary I will cut their heads off.” She justified her actions: “I was obeying Orthodox law. I will continue to do it.”
Today’s events follow the recent decision of a Georgian appeal court on June 26, 2000. On application of ultranationalist Member of Parliament Guram Sharadze, the court revoked the legal registration of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Georgia. This decision is now on appeal. There is growing concern, however, that the fires of religious intolerance are growing in Georgia and that violent persecution of other religious minorities will soon follow.
Contact: J. R. Brown, telephone: (718) 560-5600