Georgian Actor Sentenced to 8 Years for Drug Possession

Georgian actor Giorgi Giorganashvili was sentenced to 8 years in prison by Tbilisi City Court on Tuesday.

The actor was found guilty of the purchase and possession of a "large amount of drugs." Giorganashvili had pleaded innocent and claims police planted the drugs on him.

“This verdict is absurd. I have never been convicted and have always tried to keep public order and be socially responsible. I will prove my innocence,” the actor stated in the courtroom.

Giorganashvili’s verdict was protested by NGO 'White Noise' members Tornike Bziava and Beka Tsikarishvili, who threw bricks at the door of the City Court.

The two men were detained by the court’s officers in the courtyard. The motive for the detention was verbal abuse.

Akaki Zoidze, Chair of the Healthcare Committee of Parliament, commented on Giorganashvili’s case, saying the verdict was “inhumane.”

Zoidze reiterated the need to make the existing drug policy more liberal, adding that sentencing a person to 8 years for possession and purchase of drugs is "not fair."

The existing drug policy is one of the most controversial issues in Georgia. NGOs have many times called on Parliament to adopt the already initiated draft drug policy, which abolishes imprisonment of people for personal consumption or possession of drugs.

White Noise have said the drug policy should be transferred from a punitive to a caring one, which implies the creation of special services for drug addicts for their rehabilitation and re-socialization.

By Thea Morrison

Photo source: Imedinews