Detained rappers released from the courtroom

Mikheil ‘Mishka’ Mgaloblishvili and Giorgi Keburia, who were charged with alleged drug possession, have been released from pre-trial detention under an Appeals Court ruling on GEL 50 000 and GEL 20 000 bail, respectively.

Mishka Mgaloblishvili and Giorgi Keburia, members of the ‘Birja Mafia’ rap duo, were arrested on 7 June for alleged procurement and possession of particularly large quantities of psychoactive narcotic substances. The arrestees pleaded not guilty and claimed they were punished for their music video, wherein they mock the police.

Mgaloblishvili and Keburia claim the police officers verbally abused them, inquiring whether they were really the authors of the aforesaid music video (the video features a man in a police uniform, with a dog-leash tied to his neck and a bone in his mouth).  

On 9 June, Tbilisi City sentenced the ‘Birja Mafia’ members to a 2-month pre-trial detention. However, on 12 June, the ruling was overturned and they were released on bail.

Though there were some notable developments that preceded the court ruling.

A rally in support of the arrested rappers, organized by the White Noise Movement, was held outside the Parliament building, on Rustaveli Avenue, on 10 June. Various rallies and campaigns for liberalization of the drug policy in the country are frequently organized in Georgia, though the 10 June rally turned out to be particularly wide-scale.

People who joined the rappers’ support rally regarded their arrest as an encroachment on freedom of speech and censorship. They called on the government to revise the country’s tough drug policy.

Shortly before the rally, Bera Ivanishvili, also a rapper, son of the Georgian ex-Premier, Bidzina Ivanishvili, published a post on his Facebook page, expressing solidarity with the arrestees. Bidzina Ivanishvili has great influence on the ongoing processes in Georgia and is regarded as the country’s informal ruler. Thus, Bera Ivanishvili’s Facebook post was perceived by the society as a signal that the law enforcers were going to change their position with regard to the rappers.

Bera Ivanishvili’s post was followed by Georgian Vice-Premier Kakha Kaladze’s video appeal, where he stressed the need for making the country’s drug policy more humane, saying that the government was ready to work towards that.

Prior to that, the Georgian Prime Minister, Giorgi Kvirikashvili, also released a statement saying that Georgia’s drug policy was very stringent and should be revised. He called on Georgian lawmakers to expeditiously amend the relevant legislation.

The aforesaid developments radically changed the picture: the Prosecutor’s Office, which had initially demanded a 2-month pre-trial detention for the arrestees, suddenly changed its position and agreed to release them on bail. A spokesperson for the Prosecutor’ Office explained the aforesaid decision by the arrestees’ intention to cooperate with the investigative agency. The Appeals Court also shared the position of the Prosecutor’s Office.

Although the young people have been released, the ‘rappers’ case’ has raised many questions and exposed numerous problems existing both in the government and in the country in general – the representatives of the civil society believe.

The Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA) released a statement in connection with the arrest of the ‘Birja Mafia’ members, saying that: “This is yet more proof that there are serious systemic problems in the country’s law-enforcement system and judiciary, while the repressive drug policy is an important factor contributing to the aforesaid systemic problems.”

As is also pointed out in the GYLA’s statement, “…there is a reasonable suspicion that there were ulterior motives behind Mikheil Mgaloblishvili and Giorgi Keburia’s arrest, that is, to punish them for release of critical video material against the police.”

After interrogation of the ‘Birja Mafia’ rap duo members, the Prosecutor’s Office launched an investigation into alleged falsification of evidence and abuse of official powers by the policemen. However, the Young Lawyers’ Association disagrees with the aforesaid classification of the offence, claiming that criminal proceedings on the case should be instituted under Article 144 (3) of the Criminal Code of Georgia (inhumane and degrading treatment).

The rappers’ case has been a top theme, actively discussed on Georgian Facebook for several days already.

Some Facebook users believe that the country’s drug policy needs to be liberalized and people shouldn’t be arrested for possession and use of drugs. Though the drug policy context is of secondary importance in the ‘rappers’ case’, with the major problems being: restriction of the freedom of expression, impunity in the police forces, lack of an independent and fair judiciary, and a sign from the Ivanishvili family, that was later echoed by the entire government.

Part of the society has had an impression that, by focusing on the liberalization of the drug policy, the government is trying to cover up those major problems. There have been speculations that Vice-Premier Kaladze’s video appeal was a pre-election move (Kakha Kaladze will presumably stand as the Georgian Dream’s candidate for the Tbilisi Mayor’s post; the local self-government elections in Georgia are scheduled for this fall – JAMnews).