(Georgian in PDF)

CHAIRMAN OF TBILISI VAKE-SABURTALO DISTRICT COURT

P e t i t i o n

1. The Representation of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, USA in the Republic of Georgia was registered by the Isani District Court on June 11, 1998 (Reg. No. 7/10-1), and the Union of Jehovah's Witnesses in Georgia was registered by the Isani District Court on April 17 1998 (Reg. No. 7/9-5). Petitioner Badri Kopaliani is a practicing member of Jehovah's Witnesses in Georgia and currently serves as an Elder in the congregation of "Masivi, Tchrdiloeti". Petitioner David Parnidze is also a practicing member of Jehovah's Witnesses and currently serves as an Elder in the congregation of "Sololaki, Tbilisi". (see documents 1 & 2)
2. Defendant Ministry of Tax and Revenue is responsible for the Custom Department of Georgia. Defendants Gachechiladze, Gablishvil, Abesadze and Narchemashvili were or continue to be employees of the Custom Department and were all directly involved in the present dispute.
3. The Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Germany sent to Petitioners 45 books weighing 28 kilos by air transport that arrived at Tbilisi customs on July 12, 2000. The total value of this shipment according to invoice no. 8579 was 211.45 DM. (see documents 3)
4. The same Society sent to Petitioners three other shipments of books, magazines and tracts, for a total weight of 33,483 kilos and which arrived at Poti on or around June 23, 2000, July 11, 2000, and July 17, 2000 respectively. The total value of these three shipments according to invoices nos. 8475, 8557 and 8584 was 127,784.63 DM. (see documents 4, 5 & 6)
5. These four shipments of literature sent by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Germany belong not only to the two legally registered associations of Jehovah's Witnesses, but also to all members of Jehovah's Witnesses in the Republic Georgia.
6. Jehovah's Witnesses, in exercising their religious freedom as guaranteed by the Constitution of Georgia, have been importing literature essential to their religious practice since several years. Their right to import religious literature is also guaranteed by article 6 (1 and 2) of the Customs Code which state:
1. Any person is entitled on the equal basis to import and export goods and vehicles into and from Georgia under the procedure established by this Code.
2. No person may be deprived or restricted of the right to import and export goods and vehicles into and from Georgia, except for the cases provided for by this Code and other legislative enactments. (see document 7)
7. Since the creation of the democratic Republic of Georgia, the literature of Jehovah's Witnesses has never been the subject of an official ban. In fact, it has been found by a panel of experts from the faculty of Sociology of the State University of Tbilisi and the Institute of Philosophy, appointed by a court in another trial, to be Christian literature that contains an interpretation of the Bible and which does not pose any problems whatsoever to the State. (see document 8)
8. However, during the last few months Jehovah's Witnesses in Georgia have been the objects of persecution. Ultra-nationalists and members of the radical Basilist sect have openly attacked Jehovah's Witnesses. For example, on Sunday morning, October 17, 1999, members of the radical Basilist sect viciously attacked a congregation of 120 Jehovah's Witnesses peacefully meeting together to worship God. That same day, their literature was publicly burned. (see document 9)
9. At around 4:00 a.m. on June 29, 2000, the Tbilisi literature storage depot of Jehovah's Witnesses was completely destroyed by fire. There was strong evidence that the fire was an act of arson. Six tons of religious literature recently arrived from Germany was destroyed in the fire. The literature that had been off loaded at the depot for overnight storage before being delivered to congregations of Jehovah's Witnesses in Eastern Georgia. The literature had been cleared by customs the previous day. (see document 10)
10. On August 16 & 17, during the trial regarding the October 17, 1999 attack, radical Basilist sect members again attacked, this time in the courthouse, Jehovah's Witnesses attending the hearing, as well as foreigners, journalists, the advocate and the prosecutor. Neither court security officials nor local police intervened to stop the attack and remove from the court the unruly Basilist mobsters. (see document 11)
11. Since the burning of their literature depot, some 15,000 Jehovah's Witnesses in over 120 congregations across Georgia have been without books, brochures and magazines essential to the practice of their religion.
12. This is not the first time that Customs Department officials have attempted to prevent Jehovah's Witnesses from receiving their literature in Georgia. On August 10, 1998, it was necessary for the Chairman operative management to order Customs Department to release shipment of literature belonging to Jehovah's Witnesses. (see document 12)
13. Also, in the past, when trying to clear our literature at Customs, some of the officials indicated that the real reason for intercepting Jehovah's Witnesses literature was that it was "poisonous and against the Orthodox religion". At times, officials did not want to release the literature because, according to them, "Jehovah's Witnesses do not believe in images, crosses, and candles." Other times, they would request that Jehovah's Witnesses obtain permission from the Orthodox Church before releasing their literature.
14. On June 21, 1999, the Catholicos Patriarch of all Georgia wrote to the Chairman of Customs Department, relied on unfounded accusations and doctrinal differences, and stated that the literature of Jehovah's Witnesses was an "offense against the Church". The letter concluded by stating that "until we have the law on religion, it should be completely forbidden to disseminate any foreign literature with a religious content." This is contrary to the Constitution of Georgia. (see document 13)
15. The illegally seized shipments, mentioned in paragraphs 4 and 5, contained personal copies of books, magazines and tracts for use by Jehovah's Witnesses in Georgia necessary for their private worship of Jehovah God, as well as for their worship with the local congregation, and for use in their public ministry.
16. Customs officials at Tbilisi airport, as well as at Poti, refused to release these shipments for no valid reason except to say that permission from Customs Department was needed before releasing the shipments.
17. Following these refusals, Petitioners made numerous attempts, mentioned in subsequent paragraphs, to convince Custom Department to obey the law by immediately releasing the shipments of literature illegally held by them. However, Customs Department officials refused to obey the laws of Georgia.
18. On July 13, 2000 Petitioners wrote Mr. Narchemashvili, who was at that time Head of Georgian Custom Department, with a copy to Ms Rusudan Beridze, asking him to give whatever permission his subalterns needed in order to release the illegally held shipment. Mr. Narchemashvili was warned that any delay would involve storage costs for Petitioners. (see document 14)
19. Customs Department refused to release the shipments, so on July 26, 2000, Petitioners addressed another letter to Mr. Narchemashvili, with copies to Ms Rusudan Beridze and the American Embassy, regarding the four seized shipments, requesting "immediate release of this material that is being illegally detained." In this letter, Mr. Narchemashvili was clearly informed that Petitioners had "full legal rights" to request the release of their shipments and that additional storage cost were being incurred everyday that the shipments were being illegally held. (see document 15)
20. Since Customs Department persisted in not releasing the illegally held shipments, Petitioners, on July 31, 2000, addressed a letter to different government officials which included Mr. Zurab Zhvania, Chairman of Georgian Parliament, Mr. Mikheil Saakashvili, Chairman of "Citizens' Union of Georgia" party, Ms. Elene Tevdoradze, Chariman of Georgian Parliament Committee on Human Rights, and Ms. Nani Devdariani, Ombudsman. The situation with Customs Department was explained to these officials and their assistance was requested to help release the illegally held shipments. (see document 16)
21. On August 10, 2000, after numerous phone calls, Petitioners' representatives finally were able to meet with Mr. Abesadze, assistant Chairman of Customs Department, regarding the release of the illegally held shipments. Mr. Abesadze informed Petitioners that Customs Department was refusing to release the shipments because the the courts had annulled Petitioner's registration. This information was incorrect and Mr. Abesadze was informed by Petitioners' lawyer that Petitioners' registration could not have been annulled since the case was being appealed and he was shown Article 264 of the Civil Procedural Code of Georgia to that effect. (see document 17)
22. On August 11, 2000, Mr. Galdava, from the office of the Ombudsman, following through on Petitioner's letter of July 31, 2000, wrote to Mr. Gachechiladze asking for information regarding the requests of Petitioners that the illegal shipments be released. (see document 18)
23. Since the Customs Department persisted in their illegal action, Petitioners wrote a letter on August 16 to Mr. Gachechiladze, Chairman of Custom Department, with a copy to Mr. Dimitri Abesadze, informing him of the August 10 meeting with Mr. Abesadze as well as of the numerous letters written, and phone calls made, in an attempt to retrieve the illegally held shipments. Mr. Gachechiladze was asked to intervene and give the necessary order to release the illegally held shipments. He was also informed that Petitioners must continue to pay storage cost because of Custom Department's illegal actions. (see document 19)
24. Obtaining no results from their previous letter, on August 23, 2000, Petitioners again wrote to Mr. Gachechiladze, with copies to Mr. Abesadze, Ms Beridze, Ms Devdariani, Mr. Meparishvili, Mr. Narchemashvili, Mr. Saakashvili, Ms Tevdoradze, Mr. Zhvania, and the American Embassy, informing him of the meeting held with Mr. Gablishvili, of the Customs Legal Department. During that meeting, Mr. Gablishvili informed representatives of Petitioners that the shipments were being held by Customs Department because the Supreme Court might annul Petitioners' registrations at some time in the future. This explanation differed completely from the one given by Mr. Abesadze on August 10, 2000 and could not justify the illegal seizure. Mr. Gachechiladze was advised that the actions of the Customs Department, as well as those of the customs officials involved, were illegal. (see document 20)
25. On August 25, 2000, Petitioners wrote to Mr. Mikheil Machavariani, Minister of Tax and Revenue, Ministry responsible for Customs Department, sending him a copy of the August 23, 2000 letter addressed to Mr. Gachechiladze. Mr. Machavariani was advised that the problem was very serious and would require court action unless he was able to resolve the situation. (see document 21)
26. Mr. Badri Kopaliani and Mr. Paata Morbedadze made numerous attempts to resolve the situation with Customs officials, namely:

 

July 12	Mr. Kopaliani visits the customs department in Tbilisi.
July 13	Mr. Kopaliani delivers letter to Mr. Narchemashvili.
July 17-19	Mr. Kopaliani makes several attempts to speak to responsible officials. He is shuffled from one person to another without receiving any explanation for the illegal seizure of shipments.
July 25	Mr. Kopaliani speaks with lawyer at Customs Department.
July 26	Mr. Kopaliani speaks again with lawyer at Customs department. The same day a letter is faxed to Mr. Narchemashvili. Mr. Morbedaddze called his office to confirm that fax had been received.
August 1	Mr. Morbedaddze speaks with Mr. Abesadze on telephone and is told to call back next day to fix a meeting.
August 2	Mr. Kopaliani and Mr. Morbedaddze make several phone calls to Customs Department during the day to speak to Mr. Abesadze to confirm a meeting. Mr. Abesadze is not available.
August 3	Mr. Kopaliani and Mr. Morbedaddze both make numerous phone calls to Customs Department with no success.
August 4	Mr. Kopaliani and Mr. Morbedaddze both make numerous phone calls to Customs Department with no success.
August 5-9	Mr. Morbedadze calls several times every day to ask for a meeting between Mr. Warren Shewfelt and the Chairman of Customs Department. He is informed on August 9th that Mr. Abesadze, assistant Chairman, will meet with representatives of Jehovah's Witnesses the following day.
August 10	Meeting with Mr. Abesadze. (see paragraph 21 of petition)
August 11	Mr. Morbedaddze renews attempts to contact Chairman of Customs Department.
August 14	Mr. Morbedaddze makes several phones call to Customs Department to meet with responsible officials.
August 16	Mr. Kopaliani deliver letter to Mr. Gachechiladdze, new Chairman of Customs, and request his assistance.
August 21	Mr. Kopaliani calls Customs Department and is informed that a second meeting with Mr. Abesadze will be possible the following day.
August 22	Mr. Abesadze does not show up for the meeting. Instead, Mr. Kopaliani, Mr. Morbedaddze and Mr. Shewfelt meet with Mr. Gablishvili. (see paragraph 24 of Petition)
August 23	Mr. Kopaliani and Ms. Geliashvili, delivered letter to Mr. Gachechiladze explain situation and advising of impending court action.
August 25	Mr. Kopaliani calls Customs Department's hotline asking for assistance.
August 25	Copy of letter addressed to Mr. Gachechiladze sent to Mr. Machavariani, Minister of Tax and Revenue.

 

27. In spite of these numerous attempts on the part of Petitioners and their representatives, Customs Department never even once answered their letters and continued to arbitrarily refuse to release the illegally held literature.
28. Allegations that the two associations of Jehovah's Witnesses have been unregistered are false. On February 29, 2000, justice Ts. Khazalia of the circuit court of Isani-Samgori denied an application filed by Mr. B. Sharadze of the "Georgia Over All" political party to unregister the two associations of Jehovah's Witnesses. This decision was appealled and reversed by the Appeal Chamber for Civil, Entrepreneurial, and Bankruptcy Cases of the Tbilisi Circuit Court on June 26, 2000. An appeal for cassation was filed by Petitioners with the Supreme Court, thereby suspending the effects of the Appeal Chamber's decision, as provided for by article 164 of the Civil Procedural Code of Georgia. The two associations of Jehovah's Witnesses are thus legal entities that continue to enjoy all the rights guaranteed by Georgian and International law. (see document 22)
29. Customs Department officials were aware of the illegal confiscation of Petitioners' literature and Defendants personally knew at all times that their action of withholding Petitioners' literature was illegal, even if ordered by their superiors, and could not be justified by law, yet they willfully and intentionally persisted in violating the law. Defendants failed to exercise their discretional power in compliance with the law.
30. By refusing to release the illegally seized literature, the Customs Department and its officials, are in effect directly participating in the religious persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses thereby encouraging radical elements of the Georgian society to unlawful acts against this religious minority.
31. The illegal seizure of Petitioners' religious literature seriously infringes upon their right to religious freedom guaranteed by article 19 of the Constitution of Georgia and article 9 of the European Convention of Human Rights and Freedoms, as the use of this literature is essential part to their worship of Jehovah God and is a form of discrimination prohibited by article 14 of the Convention. (see document 23)
32. Petitioners suffered and continue to suffer grave prejudice from the illegal actions of Customs Department, namely by being handicapped during their religious meetings by the lack of necessary literature for those in attendance and by having to waste large amounts of time trying to repeatedly contact telephone Customs officials and by having to write numerous letters and make several visits to government officials and parliamentarians unsuccessfully seeking redress.
33. Every day that these shipments are illegally held by Customs Department, Petitioners must pay for the storage costs. For example Up until 29^th of August, Petitioners have had to pay the total amount of $823 (US dollars). (see document 24)
34. The illegal confiscation of Petitioners' property by Customs officials make it impossible for Petitioners to exercise their property rights guaranteed by section 21 (1) and 45 of the Constitution of Georgia and article 170 (1) of the Georgian Civil Code. (see document 25)
35. The illegal confiscation of Petitioners' property by Customs officials violates article 19 (2) of the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights and article 10 (1) of the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. (see document 26)
36. The illegal confiscation of Petitioners' literature by Custom officials infringes upon the right of Petitioners to freely receive and disseminate information "in writing or in any other form" as guaranteed by article 24 of the Constitution of Georgia, article 10 of the European Convention of Human Rights and Freedoms and article 1 of Protocol No. 1. (see document 27)
37. Defendants failed to exercise their discretional power in accordance with the law of Georgia thereby violating articles 5 and 6 of the General Administrative Code of Georgia. (see document 28)
38. Defendants willfully and intentionally violated the above-stated laws and are therefore jointly responsible with the Customs Department and the Ministry of Tax and Revenue for the prejudice caused to Plaintiffs as provided for at article 1005 of the Civil Code of Georgia. (see document 29)
39. The matter is urgent and this Court can reduce the delays necessary to hear this case as provided for by article 24 and 28 of the Code of Administrative Procedure of Georgia as Plaintiffs' legally protected interests are directly and individually affected and their constitutionally guaranteed rights continue to be seriously violated and such violation can only be corrected by a rapid decision of this court. (see document 30)

In conclusion, may it please the court to:

1. Order that the delays required to hear this case be reduced to two weeks or as soon as possible according the article 28 of the Code of Administrative Procedure of Georgia
2. Order Defendants to immediately release to Petitioners the full contents of the four shipments of literature described in invoices no. 8475, 8557, 8579 and 8584 received from the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Germany
3. Order defendants jointly to pay for any damages suffered to the shipments of literature described in invoices no. 8475, 8557, 8579 and 8584 received from the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Germany plus interest at the regular bank rate.
4. Order defendants jointly to pay the full value, plus interest at the regular bank rate, of the shipments of literature described in invoices no. 8475, 8557, 8579 and 8584 received from the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Germany should these shipments be completely destroyed or should they disappear.
5. Order defendants jointly to pay the full value of storage cost up until the release of the shipments of literature described in invoices no. 8475, 8557, 8579 and 8584 received from the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Germany plus interest at the regular bank rate.
6. Order that, in the future, if defendants illegally detain Plaintiffs' shipments of literature again, they will be jointly liable, without further notice, for the payment of a fine determined by the court as well as possible imprisonment.
7. Any other such orders as the court deems appropriate and as counsel for Plaintiffs sees the need to submit to court during the proceedings.

Signed in Tbilisi on August 30, 2000

Representation of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, USA in the Republic of Georgia

Union of Jehovah's Witnesses in Georgia

Mr. Badri Kopaliani, minister of Jehovah's Witnesses

Mr. David Parnidze, minister of Jehovah's Witnesses