TO:  Georgia’s Minister of Interior, Mr. Irakli Gharibashvili

We would like to respond to your statement regarding the plan to destroy the archive of materials disclosing private life, made during your Brussels visit on May 29. In particular, you noted that the illegally recorded video material will be destroyed in the upcoming days. We, the non-governmental organizations Transparency International Georgia, International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy, Georgian Young Lawyers' Association and Article 42 of the Constitution, express the desire and readiness to be immediately involved in this process and ask you to inform us about further steps on the destruction of the archive.

The above mentioned non-governmental organizations have longstanding experience in identifying violations of fundamental human rights in Georgia and monitoring state activities. In recent years we have reacted a number of times to cases of infringement of private life, and have frequently offered the authorities our recommendations based on the best international practices.

Eka Gigauri
Transparency International Georgia

Nino Lomjaria
International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy

Kakha Kozhoridze
Georgian Young Lawyers' Association

Tamar Gabisonia
Article 42 of the Constitution