For Immediate Release
September 1, 2000

Jehovah's Witnesses fight detainment of
religious literature in Republic of Georgia

TBILISI, REPUBLIC OF GEORGIA—Jehovah's Witnesses are suing customs officials for detaining 30 tons of religious literature since the middle of July.

The literature, which is imported from Germany, has been detained by customs officials at the Tbilisi airport and at the port city of Poti. On August 30, 2000, Jehovah's Witnesses in Georgia filed two motions in Tbilisi District Court, asking the court to order the release of the literature and the payment of compensation.

Officials in the customs department have thus far not provided a written explanation to Jehovah's Witnesses for the detainment. The Office of the Ombudsman and the Parliamentary Committee of Legal Affairs have also approached customs officials on the matter.

Jehovah's Witnesses are legally registered in Georgia, but legal registration is not even a requirement for individuals or groups who want to import literature, said Inga Geliashvili, attorney for Jehovah's Witnesses. However, customs officials verbally told Jehovah's Witnesses that they detained the literature because the Witnesses are no longer legally registered.

The detainment followed a district court decision on June 26, 2000, that overturned an earlier ruling in favor of Jehovah's Witnesses. The case was initiated by nationalist parliamentarian Guram Sharadze, who is seeking to revoke the Witnesses' legal registration. Their registration remains intact pending an appeal to the Georgian Supreme Court, which will consider the case on December 20, 2000.

Contact in the United States: James N. Pellechia, telephone: (718) 560-5600
Contact in Georgia: Warren Shewfelt, telephone +995 (32) 76-23-59
Or +995 (32) 76-23-58; fax +995 (32) 76-95-98