Vice Speaker Tsulukiani accuses Georgian NGOs of helping Russia file August War cases against Georgia

Parliamentary Deputy Speaker Thea Tsulukiani said Russia organized the filing of cases against Georgia at the European Court of Human Rights in connection with the August 2008 war with the help and support of Georgian non-governmental organizations.

Speaking on the TV program Anatomy of the Regime, Tsulukiani said the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA) had played a leading role in the process.

“When I started working there, during the Shevardnadze era, two or three cases would come in per year. Over the years, by the final years of my work there, up to 400 cases were being filed annually,” Tsulukiani said, referring to the European Court of Human Rights.

She said this figure excluded cases related to the August War, which she alleged had been organized for filing against Georgia by the Russian Federation with the assistance of Georgian NGOs.

“This must be stated unequivocally. Among them was, for example, GYLA, which was helping Russia bring cases against Georgia related to the August War,” Tsulukiani said.

She also named former Georgian official and current opposition leader Anna Dolidze, saying she was among those involved, while stressing that she was not the only one.

“There were several other NGOs as well, but GYLA, of course, played the leading role,” Tsulukiani said.