Trade Union Leader From Georgia: Belarusian Authorities Seem To Be Seeking Black Cat In Black Room

The IndustriALL observer is convinced that the “trade unions case” has been fabricated from the beginning to the end.

The trial against the leaders of the Belarusian independent trade union of the radio-electronic industry workers (REP) Henadz Fiadynich and Ihar Komlik has been going on for three weeks by now.

Representatives of the IndustriALL global union, which the REP is a member of, observe every hearing, the human rights center “Viasna” reports.

Chairman of the trade union of the workers of metallurgic, mining and chemical industry of Georgia, the IndustriALL observer Tamaz Dolaberidze was present at the hearing on August 13.

The observer of the IndustriALL global union commented on the court hearing he saw:

"I was at the court hearing right now, and I heard nothing special with regard to the charges and the whole case from either the judge or the prosecutor. So, I am convinced that they made it all up in order to paralyze the activities of the trade union. This is actually very alarming, as the authorities seem to be trying to form the public opinion in the direction that they want. Even more alarming is that they use the court to serve this goal. And this will influence the political processes that are happening in the country in the negative way".

Chairman of the trade union of the workers of metallurgic, mining and chemical industry of Georgia Tamaz Dolaberidze shares his view on how important it is to conduct the international monitoring of this trial:

"IndustriALL believes that the court proceedings held with regard to the REP trade union should remain under the international observation (control). We have been monitoring this case since the beginning of the investigatory measures, and it’s perfectly clear that the case is thinly veiled. There is a feeling that they are seeking a black cat in a black room, but there’s no cat in that room. There is a possibility that the people would be found guilty of doing something they never did".

Recalling the judicial experience of Georgia, Tamaz Dolaberidze thinks tha the “trade unions case” is fabricated:

"In Georgia, the court proceedings in the labor sphere are mainly held with regard to the following kinds of cases: someone was illegally fired, someone was put pressure on, dispersed, arrested; but I have never seen anything similar to what I see here. At this trial, the Public Prosecutor, and the judge are citing some figures from some documents and have no idea where these figures come from. This is the trade union accounting daily routine, there’s nothing special in those figures, in the actual fact.

I am hoping for the better future, but this case has been fabricated from the beginning to the end."