08:52, 23 February 2019

Session of Abkhaz Parliament outrages anti-corruption protesters

Protesters and journalists near the buiding of the Parliament of Abkhazia on February 2, 2019. Photo by Dmitry Stateynov for the "Caucasian Knot"

The Parliament of Abkhazia has failed to find time to consider the bill on liability for illegal enrichment, because it was placed into the end of the agenda, activists have stated.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on February 18, residents of Abkhazia, who rallied near the parliament building, demanded to add the Criminal Code with the notion of "illegal enrichment".

In order to assess the level of corruption, it's enough to look at state servants' cars and real estate, said local residents and journalists.

The February 22 session of the Abkhaz Parliament had 10 points in its agenda. The issue of hydrocarbons was No. 6, and the issue of declarations – No. 8. The consideration of the latter was postponed to February 25.

During the session, the initiative group that demands to add the Criminal Code with the notion of "illegal enrichment" was standing at the parliament building. Learning that the issue was once again postponed, the members of the group have expressed their outrage.

Levon Galustyan, the Vice-Speaker, said that this order of considering the points did not depend on the MPs, who promised to consider the corruption issue among the first ones at the next session, Astamur Kakaliya, a member of the initiative group, has explained.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on February 22, 2019 at 11:39 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.

Author: Dmitry Stateynov

Source: CK correspondent