Convicted Archbishop’s Brother: Patriarch Asked President not to Pardon Mamaladze

"His Holiness and Beatitude Ilia II, Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia asked the President to refuse to pardon Archbishop Giorgi Mamaladze," Tornike Mamaladze, brother of the convicted archpriest, told reporters of the President’s refusal to pardon convicted Archbishop.

He argues that the Patriarch deceived the Holy Synod and society and tried to avoid responsibility.

“The President did not make an independent decision. She met with the Patriarch the previous days, and I have information that His Holiness told her that the decision of the Holy Synod to send a motion to the President was a farce. The Patriarch deceived the members of the Holy Synod, laughed at each of them and disgraced them, he deceived society and tried to avoid responsibility and staged the spectacle in which the Patriarch and President played together,” Tornike Mamaladze said.

The President of Georgia refused to pardon the convicted Archpriest Giorgi Mamaladze and made the relevant statement at a special briefing today.

"Regarding Giorgi Mamaladze, I was guided by the main principle: not to promote any new confrontation in society by my decision... I could not find an argument why an exception should be made in the case of convicted Archbishop," she said.

The Holy Synod on November 8 requested the President release the Archbishop.

Mamaladze was detained in September 2017 for allegedly plotting the murder of a high-ranking clergy member of the Georgian Orthodox Church and sentenced to 9 years of imprisonment, being found guilty by the Tbilisi City Court. 

By Ana Dumbadze 

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