Cartographers Accused of Complicity in Transferring Land to Azerbaijan Released on Bail

Baku/30.01.21/Turan: In Tbilisi, Georgian cartographers Iveri Melashvili and Natalya Ilyicheva were released on bail of 20 thousand lari (about 6,060 US dollars) from each for the duration of the trial in the Tbilisi City Court. The decision was made on January 28. The cartographers are accused of preparing the transfer of Georgian land to Azerbaijan during the demarcation of the border. The amount of the deposit was collected by supporters of the cartographers at the call of the Shame organization.

In 2020, Iveri Melashvili and Natalya Ilyicheva were detained for using maps of the wrong scale when determining the border with Azerbaijan. On October 8, 2020, by a court decision, the experts were arrested for two months; on December 1, the Tbilisi City Court extended the arrest period. On January 21, the Prosecutor General's Office of Georgia announced the transfer of the case to court, noting that the cartographers had committed a crime on the instructions of "higher officials". Melashvili called the criminal case absurd and politically motivated.

The examination established that the defendants were guided by maps published in 1970-80, and the borders reflected in them were "contrary to the historical interests of our country, including in relation to David Gareji." Since the commission used the maps of the wrong year and scale, the sections of the border agreed before 2007 do not correspond to the map published in 1937-1938. The difference in the area of ​​the territories was 3.5 thousand hectares, which Georgia lost, the Prosecutor General's Office reports.

Public Defender Nino Lomzharia made a statement about the cartographers’ case. She supported the decision to change the preventive measure against Iveri Melashvili and Natalia Ilyicheva.

Azerbaijan rejects Georgia's claims to the monastery and the territory of Keshikchi Dag (David Gareji), proceeding from the fact that the state border between the two states should pass along the line of the administrative border between the Azerbaijan and Georgian SSR by the time of the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Professor David Darchiashvili believes that billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili is behind the intention to condemn the cartographers, and he seeks to use the trial to politically accuse the previous government of Mikhail Saakashvili.

“Why put people in jail, and without understanding these cards to the end, still extend the term of pre-trial detention? This is the main snag and political motive, which is very cynical on the part of the ruling party. They want to put pressure and to bring people to such an extent that they tell what the ruling party wants - about representatives of another force that ruled before them,” he said for Echo Kavkaza.  –0----