Baku, Ankara save two Georgians from hanging

 

In recent days all news programs of Georgian TV-channels begin with good news from Malaysia: According to the court decision, citizens of Georgia, Daredzhan Kokhtashvili and Babutsa Gordadze have been jailed for 6 and 8 years correspondingly.

For Georgia this court decisions is not only a great achievement, but a miracle, considering their serious crime. On October 24, 2010, two women were arrested in the airport of Kuala Lumpur, as the police found dangerous drugs in their luggage.

Malaysia has very strict laws on drug trafficking. The crime is punished by death through hanging. Hundreds of people were killed for this crime, including dozens of women. The Malaysian authorities rejected requests of leaders of many powerful states and monarchies, Vatican and international organizations to pardon some convicts. However, the international mass media has a lot of dreadful pictures from Malaysia showing hanging of prisoners.

Possibility of hanging two typical shuttle traders from Tbilisi caused fear in the Georgian society, and the authorities started to do their best for saving them.

It should be noted that possession of drugs is punished in Georgia by imprisonment for life. If Gordadze and Kokhtashvili were caught in Tbilisi with such an amount of amphetamine, they would be sentenced to prison for live and it would be fair. But hanging of a woman is another question.

At first the Malaysian authorities didn’t respond on requests of the Georgian authorities at all. Georgia has few contacts with Malaysia. Fortunately, Azerbaijan and Turkey helped Tbilisi to connect with Malaysian officials, who make decisions there.

Initially Tbilisi addressed to Baku. Later they decided to involve Turkish diplomats. Mutual efforts led to a serious breakthrough: the Malaysian authorities began to respond on requests and give information on prisoners. Husband of Babutsi Gordadze admitted that he asked his wife to carry pictures, in frames of which drugs were hidden, to Malaysia, and Gordadze didn’t know about it, as well as Kokhtashvili. Husband was sentenced to prison for 15 years, but he saved his wife from awful death.