Georgia: After four years of attacks, a suspended sentence is given

Forum18.org 2003-11-05 - copyright by Forum18

Religious minorities in Georgia have welcomed the first criminal punishment given in four years of unpunished violence by self-styled Orthodox vigilantes, Forum 18 News Service has been told, even though the jail sentence given is a suspended sentence.

The video is not part of the official release.

However the sentenced attacker has told Forum 18 that he is innocent, that Jehovah's Witnesses violently assaulted him contrary to their past record, and that he will lodge court appeals by the end of this week. The sentenced attacker has a long record of

After enduring four years of unpunished violence by Orthodox extremists, religious minorities have welcomed the conditional sentence handed down yesterday (4 November 2003) on violent self-appointed Orthodox vigilante Paata Bluashvili and four associates.