On March 29, 2012, at 11:00 am, Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association held a press conference on dismissal of Tamar Aspanidze, a teacher at a public school of Bolnisi N3 on alleged political motive.

Tamar Aspanidze applied to GYLA, stating that her dismissal had been motivated by political activities of her son Davit Aspanidze. Davit Aspanidze is a chairperson of the Bolnisi Office of the Republican Party.

According to Tamar Aspanidze, several days before her dismissal, principal of the public school demanded she write an application on resignation, allegedly motivated by political views held by Tamar Aspanidze and her son. According to Tamar Aspanidze, the principal told her that if he refused to resign voluntarily, he would have to find grounds for her dismissal and terminate labor relations prematurely or resign himself. The principal stated that he did not have any issues with Aspanadze, as a teacher but he was forced to follow the instructions received from the educational resource-center of Bolnisi. In a conversation with Tamar Aspanadze, the head of the resource center did not deny that he sought Tamar Aspanidze’s dismissal since she “had been spotted” outside the office of the Georgian Dream a number of times.

Tamar Aspanidze was dismissed from work on March 26, 2011. According to the corresponding order cites violation of conditions of the labor agreement by the employee as grounds for terminating labor relations with Ms Aspanidze. It is noteworthy that Tamar Aspanidze worked as a teacher at public school of Bolnisi N3 for the last 20 years. Throughout the period the school administration never had any complaints with her.

It is noteworthy that this is not the first time a teacher, who believes that her dismissals ha been motivated by her political views or political views held by her family members, has turned to GYLA for assistance. Recently number of similar cases has increased significantly. Currently regional offices of GYLA are protecting interests of 10 teachers who have found themselves in similar situations.

As under Article 156 of the Criminal Code of Georgia, persecution for political pursuits is qualified as a crime, we believe that the law enforcement should immediately investigate and prosecute the alleged crimes.