The LAS Tbilisi Bureau lawyer, Tea Kaulashvili, defended the interests of the Somali girl Meiko M. The girl applied to Legal Aid Service for assistance after she had been refused an asylum in Georgia from the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Accommodation and Refugees.
The public lawyer Tea Kaulashvili got involved in the case at the stage of drafting the lawsuit. According to the case materials, the citizen of Somalia Meiko M. was a representative of “Rahaven” tribe. In 2016, she left the country, came to Georgia and applied for an asylum. As she stated, she was a victim of domestic violence as well as violence from the state that is unable to protect her and her rights. She had a specific problem as being a woman. She was a child of her father and his third wife who was killed by the child of her father’s first wife. In order to escape all this, at first, she moved to Saudi Arabia where she became a victim as well and then decided to arrive in Georgia.
More than one trial was conducted from 2016 to 2017. The lawyer underlined that the information provided by the victim was a ground that excluded her return to Somalia. The Ministry should have taken into account the risks of possible prosecution and inhumane treatment of Meiko M. and should have granted her asylum in Georgia.
After listening to and discussing the circumstances, the court made decision to annul the order of the Ministry dated October 30, 2017 and the lawsuit of Meiko M. was fully satisfied. The administrative body was obliged to pass a new act on granting a Somali girl the humanitarian status.