Under Daut Khutab’s chairmanship, an extended meeting of the Committee of People's Assembly
- Parliament of the Republic of Abkhazia on state and legal policy was held on February 20.
The meeting was attended by the Speaker of Parliament Lasha Ashuba, deputies, the President of
the Republic of Abkhazia's representative in parliament, Minister of Justice Anri Bartsits, First
Deputy General Prosecutor Damir Kvitsinia, Ombudsperson for Human Rights in the Republic of
Abkhazia Anas Kishmaria, the Human Rights Ombudsperson Office expert Astanda Gurgulia, the
head of the investigation department of the General Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of
Abkhazia Tamila Bigvava and representatives of the Chamber of Lawyers of the Republic of
Abkhazia.
The meeting participants considered the draft law “On Amendments to the Criminal Code of the
Republic of Abkhazia.” It provides for amendments to the article of the Criminal Code of the
Republic of Abkhazia related to slander.
“Every citizen of the Republic of Abkhazia is entitled to the following: preservation of honor and
dignity, freedom of the private life, and privacy for themselves and their families. The current
version of Article 124 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Abkhazia indicates the slander
criminal liability which is difficult to prove, as investigative and judicial practice shows, it is
proposed to substitute "inaccurate information" for "dissemination of knowingly false
information" in Part 1 of Article 124 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Abkhazia and also
with the consent of the victim, supplement the norm with a note establishing the release of a person
from criminal liability in the event of a refutation of false information disseminated by him that
discredits the honor and dignity of another person” the explanatory note says..
The authors of the draft law also suggest to provide for criminal liability for slander, the exclusion
of such a type of punishment is a “corrective labor” and an increase in the amount of the fine.
Based on the results of the discussion and subsequent voting, the approval of the draft law didn’t
get the positive recommendation from the members of the Committee at the session of the People's
Assembly - the Parliament of the Republic of Abkhazia.
Follow the link to read the opinion of the Ombudsperson for Human Rights in the Republic of
Abkhazia Anas Kishmaria, on the draft law of the Republic of Abkhazia “On Amendments to the
Criminal Code of the Republic of Abkhazia.”
https://ombudsmanra.org/upload/iblock/098/0989d4d7b251ab31ee9b13286bcb9d2f.pdf